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Some embattled candidates get a boost from second-quarter
A host of campaigns have released fundraising figures ahead of the July 15
deadline for the second quarter in the hopes of winning attention and more
money.
Embattled Republican Senate candidates Mark Kirk and Sen. David Vitter both had good second quarters, while Republican Rob Portman appeared to open a large fundraising lead in his fight for an Ohio Senate seat.
Vitter and Kirk
The second quarter numbers put up by Sen. David Vitter
(R-La.) and Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) both came amid turmoil for their respective
campaigns.
Vitter raised more than $1 million in the second quarter and his campaign said
it will report $5.5 million in cash on hand. This came despite a run of bad
press over his ex-aide Brian Furer, who allegedly held his former girlfriend at
knife-point in 2008. Furer remained on Vitter’s staff until ABC News reported
the incidents in June and Furer resigned.
News about Furer broke late in the quarter, so the real test will come in September when the third quarter closes. But Vitter's $5.5 million in cash on hand is expected to give him an edge over Rep. Charlie Melancon (D-La) who has not yet released his second quarter figures. Melancon raised $543,000 in the first quarter and reported $2.3 million cash on hand as of the end of March.
Another problem for Vitter comes in the form of a last-minute primary challenge from former Louisiana state Supreme Court Judge Chet Traylor. The August 28 primary could start eating into Vitter's current cash advantage.
Kirk, who has been fighting charges he exaggerated his military record, raised
a healthy $2.3 million in the second quarter.
Democrat Alexi Giannoulias has pulled even with Kirk in recent polls, but
Giannoulias has problems of his own related to the Spring collapse of a
family-owned bank. Giannoulias has yet to release his numbers for the quarter
Portman
The fundraising gap appears to be widening in Ohio’s Senate
contest, where former GOP Rep. Rob Portman raised $2.65 million this quarter,
while Democrat and Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher's raised $1.1 million.
It’s not a huge disparity until you look at the cash on hand numbers. Portman’s
campaign said it will report $8.8 million, while Fisher will report around $1
million.
Minnesota
National money is pouring into Minnesota’s 6th district, making it the leading candidate for most expensive congressional race in the nation.
GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann had a monster fundraising quarter, raising $1.7
million. But Democratic challenger Tarryl Clark countered with an impressive
quarter herself, raising $910,000. Clark has the backing of EMILY's List, which
has been soliciting its members on behalf of Clark's campaign.
Neither campaign has released its cash on hand figures ahead of next week's filing
deadline.
Minnick
Rep. Walt Minnick (D-Idaho) continued his impressive
fundraising in a district that is one of the NRCC's top targets this fall.
Minnick raised $410,000 in the second quarter. His campaign said it will report
$1.1 million cash on hand.
Minnick's Republican opponent, state Rep. Raul Labrador has not yet released
his totals and Democrats are anticipating lackluster numbers. Labrador defeated
the national party's favored candidate, Vaughn Ward, in a May primary.
New Hampshire
The Republican Senate primary in New Hampshire is getting
even more interesting courtesy of Republican Bill Binnie's second quarter
fundraising numbers.
Binnie is one of four GOP candidates in a primary race that Republican Kelly
Ayotte appeared to have a lock on earlier this year. But Ayotte has been facing
criticism for not uncovering a mortgage fraud scheme that occurred while she
was state attorney general.
Binnie is pumping a portion of his personal fortune into the race, but he
managed to raise some $550,000 in the second quarter. That leaves him with more
than $1.1 million cash on hand, according to the campaign.
Ayotte raised $720,000 for the quarter, but her campaign has not released its
cash on hand number.
Other second quarter fundraising questions have yet to be answered:
Romanoff
Will Colorado Democrat Andrew Romanoff see a Bill Clinton effect?
The former president's surprise endorsement of Romanoff in
his Democratic primary against Sen. Michael Bennet (D) came late in the
quarter. But Clinton did pen a fundraising email for Romanoff, who is in
serious need of a solid fundraising quarter.
Romanoff raised $385,647 during the first quarter to Bennet’s $1.4 million.
Neither candidate has released second quarter numbers, but Bennet was sitting
on $6 million after last quarter.
Nevada
Can Republican Sharron Angle keep pace?
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) is going to raise a
boatload of money this cycle--his goal is $25 million. And while Angle raised
some $1 million in the first week after capturing the Republican nomination in
Nevada, she will need every penny to match what national Democrats are planning
to spend to hold onto Reid's seat.
Florida
What will Florida Gov. Charlie Crist's haul look like?
Now that he's an independent, Crist faces pressure to show that he can still raise cash from somewhere for his Senate race. Rep. Kendrick Meek (D) reported more than $1 million raised for the second quarter. No numbers yet from Republican Marco Rubio.
--This story was updated at 7:45 p.m.
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