Advertisement Shaheen raised record $2.27M in third quarter, has $4.3M on hand for reelection bid Democratic incumbent senator sets record for third quarter of pre-election year Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, already in the midst of a campaign for a third term, raised $2.27 million in the third quarter of the year and entered October with nearly $4.3 million in cash on hand, her campaign said Monday.>> Download the FREE WMUR appWMUR first reported the totals, announced by Shaheen’s reelection campaign, on Twitter.At the end of second quarter on June 30, Shaheen had raised a total of $5.1 million since she was elected to a second term in 2014. The third quarter total brings her "cycle-to-date" fundraising to nearly $7.4 million. The Shaheen campaign said the quarterly receipts total is a New Hampshire record for third quarter fundraising in the year prior to an election – by far.The highest total had been $1.63 million raised in the third quarter of 2015 by Republican then-incumbent Sen. Kelly Ayotte, who lost a close race to current Sen. Maggie Hassan in November 2016. Shaheen herself had the third highest total for the quarter, about $950,000 in the third quarter of 2013, her campaign said. While Shaheen’s full report is not expected to be made public until the federal filing deadline on Tuesday, her campaign said it will show contributions from 26,162 individuals in the quarter, with an average contribution of $54, and it said 95 percent of the number of Shaheen’s contributions were $100 or less.In a statement, Rachel Berger, Shaheen for Senate finance director, said: "Sen. Shaheen continues to make a difference for New Hampshire families on the issues that matter most, working across the aisle to secure federal funding to combat the opioid epidemic and address PFAS contamination, and championing legislation to lower health care costs.“This strong fundraising quarter shows that Granite Staters are determined to reelect her in 2020."The big haul came after Shaheen’s campaign in the past two months issued numerous fundraising pleas in response to the early August news from former Donald Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski that he is very seriously considering running for the seat.Shaheen has been described by a few national media outlets and political prognosticators as being vulnerable in 2020 – another point her campaign used in its fundraising emails to urge supporters to make contributions.Three other Republicans have so far announced candidacies to compete for the right to take on Shaheen in the 2020 general election.As WMUR reported early Monday, Wolfeboro attorney Bryant “Corky” Messner poured $1 million of his own money into his campaign in loans, announcing total receipts of nearly $1.23 million and nearly $1.2 million in cash on hand.Retired Brig. Gen. Donald Bolduc’s campaign announced having raised $239,818 during the third quarter and said the Stratham resident contributed or loaned no money of his own. The Bolduc campaign did not release its candidate's end-of-quarter cash-on-hand total but Bolduc said, "We will have the resources we need to defeat Jeanne Shaheen in November 2020."View his full statement here and here.The third Republican candidate, former New Hampshire House Speaker Bill O’Brien of Nashua, has not yet released his fundraising for the quarter.