Florida Senate candidate Kendrick Meek (D) remains a consistent fundraiser — pulling in more than $1 million for the second quarter in a row. The Meek campaign announced Thursday it raised "over $1 million from more than 7,000 supporters" between March 31 and June 30. A spokesman for Meek said the campaign now has more than $4 million cash on hand.
In the first quarter of 2010, Meek raised more than $1 million and reported having $3.7 million banked.
Meek is the first candidate in the three-way Senate race to release his figures. Gov. Charlie Crist and Republican Marco Rubio have yet to announce their totals. Last quarter, Crist had $7.6 million in the bank while Rubio had $3.9 million.
Former Rep. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) raised $2.65 million in the second quarter for his Senate campaign. That leaves him with $8.8 million cash on hand, according to the campaign.
Portman's Democratic opponent, Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher has not yet reported his second quarter numbers, but his fundraising was well behind Portman last quarter. Fisher raised some $550,000 in the first quarter to Portman's $2.35 million.
Fisher's campaign is also facing questions over just how unified Democrats are behind his candidacy, as The Hill campaign reporter Sean Miller reported Wednesday.
Polls show the race is tight. A Rasmussen poll from the end of June gave Portman a four-point edge, while a PPP survey showed Fisher ahead by two.
Fundraising numbers are beginning to trickle in as candidates in New Hampshire, Colorado and Wisconsin touted their figures Wednesday.
Wisconsin House candidate Sean Duffy (D) announced he raised $470,000 in the second quarter and now has almost $670,000 in the bank. Duffy faces state Sen. Julie Lassa (D) for the seat being vacated by Rep. David Obey (D-Wis.). Lassa announced she raised $313,928 since entering the race on May 10.
Two Republican Senate candidates also released their figures Wednesday. Jane Norton (Colo.) announced she raised more than $900,000 in the second quarter. A spokeswoman for her campaign said Norton has "just over" $600,000 left in the bank. Her primary rival, Ken Buck, has not released his fundraising numbers.
In New Hampshire, former Attorney General Kelly Ayotte (R) announced she raised more than $720,000. The campaign noted it was her best quarter to date, despite being under scrutiny for her role in the Financial Resources Mortgage scandal. New Hampshire Democrat Paul Hodes has yet to release his numbers.
The second quarter ended June 30th. Numbers are due to the FEC by July 15th.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce's political action committee, ChamberPAC, will host a breakfast fundraiser for GOP Senate candidate Dino Rossi July 27 in Washington.
Rossi is seeking the Republican nomination to face Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) this fall. He faces a primary challenge from Clint Didier.
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that the breakfast fundraiser will cost $1,000 for PAC attendees and $500 for individuals.
The Chamber has been engaged in lobbying efforts against the financial reform bill currently before Congress, which Murray is backing. Rossi has yet to take a position on the proposed reform.
Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) spoke publicly for the first time Wednesday regarding his ex-legislative aide Brian Furer, who police allege held his girlfriend at knifepoint in 2008.
Vitter downplayed the controversy, calling it old news. According to ABC News, Vitter told reporters the issue has been "misrepresented."
The Vitter aide who was involved in the 2008 altercation resigned last month after an ABC News report on the incident. Until Wednesday, Vitter repeatedly refused to answer questions about his decision to keep the man on his staff for two more years despite his arrest and subsequent guilty pleas to lesser charges.
When asked why he had assigned Furer to handle women's issues, Vitter said that he had done no such thing.
"He was not," Vitter said. "That's just one of several issues that have been completely misreported. Tanya Newman, Nicole Herbert in my office are assigned to women's issues. That's always been the case."
Democrats are pushing back hard against that denial. Furer was listed on a number of websites and legislative directories as working on women's issues in Vitter's office.
The National Organization for Women asked the Senate to censure Vitter this past weekend for keeping Furer on staff after the senator was made aware of the incident.
Vitter spoke to reporters after officially filing papers for his re-election at the Louisiana secretary of state's office.
Despite the controversy, Sen. Vitter still leads Rep. Charlie Melancon (D) in the polls. The latest Rasmussen numbers had Vitter ahead 53-35.
Missouri House candidate Tommy Sowers (D) touts his steel-covered "combat Bible" in his first TV ad, which was released Wednesday. Sowers, an Iraq war veteran, is challenging Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (R-Mo.), who has questioned his military service.
Emerson told the Southeast Missourian in a May interview that Sowers "never commanded anybody" during his time in the military.
Sowers has tried to blunt her attacks by defending his record and having retired Gen. Wesley Clark (D) issue a fundraising plea on his behalf.
The ad is airing on cable and being broadcast "all across" the 8th district for the next month, according to the Sowers campaign. It coincides with his making stops in the district's 28 counties during the next 28 days. The spot was produced by the Tennessee-based firm Fletcher, Rowley & Riddle.
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