Fundraising wrap-up: Candidates reach for the half-million mark

Fundraising figures for January through March continued to pour in on Monday, with a number of candidates falling just short of the one-half million dollar mark:

• Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) raised $484,000 and finished the quarter with almost $1.5 million in the bank for his reelection. His likely Democratic opponent, former state lawmaker Keith Fitzgerald, has yet to report, but had less than $200,000 stored away as of the end of 2011. 

Democrats said Buchanan's successful quarter was not surprising, attempting to tie his fundraising to ongoing allegations of campaign-finance violations. Buchanan has denied any wrongdoing.

• Rep. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) brought in $490,000 for his bid for retiring Sen. Jeff Bingaman's (D-N.M.) seat. Heinrich has $1.55 million cash on hand and faces state auditor Hector Balderas (D) in the primary. The winner is expected to square off in the fall with former Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.).

• Democrat Cheri Bustos topped $400,000 in the first quarter for her challenge to Tea Party-backed Rep. Bobby Schilling (R-Ill.). Bustos, who bested two other Democrats vying for the nomination in a primary in late March, didn't release her cash on hand. 

Schilling raised $314,000 for the quarter and ended it with $823,000 on hand, according to the conservative blog Illinois Review.

—This post was updated at 6:16 p.m.

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