Kaine raises $2.25M in Virginia Senate bid

Democrat Tim Kaine's Senate campaign raised $2.25 million in the second quarter of 2011, it will announce later Tuesday.

Kaine, the former Virginia governor and ex-Democratic National Committee (DNC) chairman, drew $2.25 million from 4,600 donors since entering the race April 5.

"We are pleased with how many people are responding to this campaign in its first weeks," said Brandi Hoffine, Kaine's spokeswoman. "Our primary focus for the coming months will be building on our strong network of grassroots supporters who have already committed to helping elect Gov. Kaine to the U.S. Senate and making sure every Virginia voter has the opportunity to hear his plans for creating jobs, growing our economy and restoring fiscal discipline in Washington."

Kaine's campaign didn't release figures on its debt or levels of cash on hand, explaining that those numbers would be detailed in its eventual filing with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Former Sen. George Allen's (R-Va.) campaign hasn't yet released its quarterly numbers.

Bill Riggs, a spokesman for Allen's campaign, went on the attack, accusing Kaine of raising funds from liberal special interests. (ActBlue isn't an activist group, per se, that contributes directly to candidates. Rather, it's a clearinghouse for donations to promoted candidates.)

“As expected, liberal special interests have begun lining up to support and fund Chairman Kaine’s campaign, including more than half a million dollars from the liberal website ActBlue alone," he said. "The reason is clear: They know that Chairman Kaine would be a reliable vote in the Senate for President Obama and the Washington Democrats’ pro-spending, pro-union, pro-big government policies that he championed as chairman of the Democratic National Committee.”

Last updated at 1:25 p.m.

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