The Democrat in the special election to replace Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) won the fundraising battle in the first quarter, but both men came out with almost the same amount of money after the GOP candidate self-funded $150,000.
Federal Election Commission reports show former Murtha aide Mark Critz (D) raise $376,000 before March 31. He spent $46,000 and banked $330,000.
The GOP nominee, businessman Tim Burns, raised $226,000 and self-funded $150,000 to give him the same in total receipts. Burns spent $58,000 and, by virtue of being in the race before Murtha's death, had slightly more in the bank -- $387,000.
Freshman Rep. Harry Teague (D-N.M.) had a modest first quarter in terms of fundraising but still leads his GOP challenger in cash on hand. Teague raised $132,900 in the last three months and now has $927,300 banked for his match up with former Rep. Steve Pearce (R-N.M.).
Pearce announced Wednesday the he raised $277,447 in the first quarter -- he has $708,000 cash on hand.
Pearce left his 2nd district seat to launch an unsuccessful Senate bid in 2008.
Former NFL star Jon Runyan (R) didn't put up the kind of first quarter numbers that are expected of a top-tier challenger. Runyan, a long-time Philadelphia Eagles offensive lineman, raised $150,720 since he launched his campaign last month. But $100,000 of the haul was his own money.
Runyan now has $137,559 cash on hand, according to PolitickerNJ.com.
His campaign attributed the poor showing to Runyan's late entry into the race to unseat Rep. John Adler (D-N.J.).
"We've raised nearly another $30,000 in the last two weeks since the deadline for the first quarter, with a slew of events coming up," said Runyan spokesman Chris Russell. "We feel good."
Attorney Ben Quayle (R) has raised more than $550,000 since announcing his bid for Arizona's 3rd district House seat. Quayle, the son of former Vice President Dan Quayle, brought in some $90,000 a week since he launched his campaign six weeks ago.
"I am grateful for the overwhelming support for my candidacy," Quayle said in a statement. "People agree that it is time to send the next generation to Washington."
Quayle is one of several Republicans running for the seat being vacated by Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.), who is retiring at the end of his current term.
Paradise Valley Vernon Parker, another contender for the GOP nod, announced last week that he'd raised $230,000 in the first quarter.
Tennessee House candidate Stephen Fincher is leading the GOP primary field by 23 points, according to a poll released Wednesday by his campaign.
The survey by the Tarrance Group, which polled 401 likely Republican primary voters in the state's 8th district April 5-6, shows the farmer and gospel singer got 40percent of the vote. Meanwhile, the poll has Ron Kirkland getting 17percent of the vote, George Flinn with 7percent and all other candidates within the margin of error. A third of the primary electorate is undecided.
Fincher is the National Republican Congressional Committee's favored candidate.
Tennessee's 8th district is an open seat race. Rep. John Tanner (D-Tenn.) announced last December he wouldn't seek a 12th term. The district is considered a toss up.
Businessman Bill Flores won the GOP primary runoff to face Rep. Chet Edwards (D-Texas) Tuesday night, and Edwards came out swinging Wednesday morning, attacking his new opponent on his lack of a voting record.
“This race will focus on two key facts: First, I am a champion for our veterans and military families and have worked effectively on a bipartisan basis for jobs and economic development for our district," Edwards said in a video. "Second, Mr. Flores has been recruited by Washington, D.C. insiders to try to buy our district’s congressional seat with millions of dollars he has made as a Houston oil executive, even though he has never once voted in a general election in our district — not even once.”
Flores initially said that he voted for his runoff opponent, Rob Curnock, in 2008. Later, he admitted that he didn't actually vote in the race.
Flores spokesman Matt Mackowiak responds: "Career politician Chet Edwards didn't even wait 12 hours to begin desperately attacking, cynically suggesting that a person's vote can be bought. After over 20 years in politics, Chet chooses to attack Bill Flores rather than state his vision or defend his own record."
National Republicans got their man in the race to face Rep. Chet Edwards (D-Texas), with businessman Bill Flores winning a primary runoff over 2008 nominee Rob Curnock on Tuesday.
Flores led comfortably, 63-37 with 85 percent of precincts reporting,
according to the Texas Secretary of State. The race has been called for
Flores.
In the other race the GOP has its eyes on in the Lone Star State,
attorney Quico Canseco defeated former CIA officer Will Hurd. Canseco, who lost the 2008 primary, led 56-44 with 76
percent of precincts reporting and will face Rep. Ciro Rodriguez (D-Texas).
The Edwards seat represents the better pickup opportunity for the GOP, which has high hopes for Flores's candidacy and sees the heavily conservative district as a ripe pickup. Neither candidate in Rodriguez's district has put together big money for the GOP's effort to win back the seat, which it lost in 2006.
Michigan House Republican Leader Kevin Elsenheimer announced Tuesday he will not seek the GOP nod in the race to succeed Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.).
"While it would have been an honor to serve in Congress, I want to spend more time closer to home and representing the largest congressional district east of the Mississippi would make that nearly impossible," Elsenheimer said in a statement. "After discussing it with my family, I concluded that my priorities are right here at home."
Stupak revealed last week he would not seek a 10th term in Congress.
Meanwhile, state Rep. Joel Sheltrown (D) announced Monday he would run for the seat.
Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) has given his opponents plenty of ammunition, but he's also going to have plenty of his own -- in monetary form.
The outspoken liberal congressman from a swing Orlando district announced Tuesday that he raised $803,000 in the first quarter of 2010, including nearly $500,00 during a one-day "moneybomb" in March.
Grayson also raised about $830,000 in the fourth quarter of 2009, giving him a nearly unheard-of back-to-back $800,000 quarters. The last haul came after Grayson made comments on the House floor that Republicans who opposed the healthcare bill wanted Americans to "die quickly." Since then, he has become a national liberal icon who has tapped his renown to raise gobs of money.
"This is what people power looks like," he said.
Grayson's campaign said he now has more than $1.5 million on hand.
One of Grayson's GOP opponents, businessman Bruce O'Donoghue, announced earlier this month that he had raised $300,000 for the quarter.
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