Stabenow challenger tops $1M in fourth quarter

Former Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.) raised more than $1 million in the last quarter, his campaign announced Thursday morning, the latest strong cash haul for the GOP front-runner in the race to unseat Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.).

Stabenow has yet to release her fundraising totals, and Hoekstra hasn't released how much cash on hand he has. This is the second straight quarter he's topped $1 million.

Hoekstra came into the race known as a strong campaigner but a weak fundraiser, and these solid quarters will help put that concern to rest.

But he can't rest easy yet: charter school founder Clark Durant, who is trying to run to Hoekstra's right in the primary, brought in $600,000 this quarter after bringing in $750,000 in the first six weeks of his campaign last quarter. That number shows his fundraising could be slowing a bit, but he'll have enough money to keep the primary interesting.

Stabenow had close to $5 million in the bank as of three months ago, and a fundraiser with Vice President Biden in November will boost her numbers for this quarter. In a recent poll conducted for the Democratic Party of Michigan, she led Hoekstra 52 percent to 42 percent.