North Carolina Democrat Kay Hagan had her best fundraising quarter to date in her challenge to Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.). Lesser-known Dems flex money muscle

Senate Democrats continued to hold a sizable advantage over Republicans in fundraising for competitive Senate races – and this quarter, some of their less-publicized recruits also picked up their fundraising pace.

Several emerging Democratic challengers demonstrated this quarter that they are capable of raising enough money necessary to seriously challenge Republican incumbents, even though they still face overall financial hurdles against well-heeled opponents.


North Carolina Democrat Kay Hagan had her best fundraising quarter to date in her challenge to Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.). Hagan, a five-term state senator from the Greensboro area, announced that she raised over $1.6 million over the last three months, with $1.2 million left in her campaign account at the end of June.

Dole still narrowly outperformed Hagan, raising about $2.1 million in the quarter. And Dole continues to have significantly more cash on hand — $2.7 million — even after spending on several television ads touting her record on illegal immigration and her work on the tobacco buyout.

In Maine, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) raised $1.06 million, just barely outdistancing Rep. Tom Allen (D-Maine), who raised just over $1 million. Collins still is in fairly strong shape for re-election: She has about $2 million more than Allen — $5.1 to $3.1 million — to spend, and has been leading by double-digits in most recent public polls

And Oregon state House Speaker Jeff Merkley (D), fresh off winning his party’s nomination, narrowly outraised Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) for the quarter. Merkley raised $1.42 million, compared to Smith’s $1.35 million haul. But much of that money went towards the competitive primary, and Smith still has about eight times as much cash-on-hand as Merkley ($4.5 million to $560,000).

One of the biggest fundraising surprises came from Nebraska, where Democratic rancher Scott Kleeb outraised former governor Mike Johanns (R) for the quarter, $700,000 to $683,000. The race is still a long-shot for Democrats, but the fundraising figures represent a symbolic blow to Johanns, who has extensive connections both in Nebraska and Washington, where he served as President Bush’s Agriculture Secretary.

In Alaska, Anchorage mayor Mark Begich raised just over $1 million in his bid to unseat Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), who has served in the Senate since 1968. Stevens had not yet reported his fundraising numbers at presstime.

Meanwhile, the Democrats’ leading recruits continued to post impressive fundraising numbers. Former Virginia Governor Mark Warner raised $3 million over the last three months, giving him a $5.1 million warchest to spend against Republican Jim Gilmore. That’s over 40 times more than Gilmore, who ended the quarter with a paltry $117,000 cash-on-hand.

The Udall cousins, Reps. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) and Tom Udall (D-N.M.) are both among their party’s top fundraisers as well. Mark Udall raised over $2 million in his race against former GOP Rep. Bob Schaffer, and now has nearly $4 million on-hand.

Schaffer raised $1.4 million and has $2.8 million cash-on-hand.

His cousin, Tom, raised $2.1 million in the quarter, greatly benefited from not facing a primary opponent, allowing him to concentrate on raising money. His opponent, Rep. Steve Pearce (R-N.M.), was forced to expend much money in a contentious primary against Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.).

And former New Hampshire Democratic governor Jeanne Shaheen announced she raised $1.6 million and now has $2.1 million in her campaign account. . Republican Sen. John Sununu’s campaign has announced that it has about $5 million cash-on-hand after raising more than $1 million over the quarter.

“Democratic candidates from coast to coast had very good quarters and our in position to run strong, well-funded campaigns headed into the fall,” said Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesman Matt Miller.

Republicans, though, are bullish over their nominee in Louisiana, state Treasurer John Kennedy, who matched Sen. Mary Landrieu’s fundraising total over the last three months. Kennedy raised $1.51 million, about the same as Landrieu’s estimated $1.5 million total. Landrieu, though, maintains a strong cash-on-hand advantage, with $5.4 million in her campaign account, twice as much as Kennedy’s $2.7 million.

“For the second straight quarter John Kennedy has outperformed Mary Landrieu, even with all the fundraising advantages an incumbent enjoys,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesman John Randall.

In another encouraging development for Republicans, Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) outraised Democratic comedian Al Franken for the first time in over a year. Coleman raised $2.35 million, just ahead of Franken’s $2.26 million for the quarter, and has over $3 million more in his campaign account than Franken ($7.2 million to $4 million).

Franken’s campaign has struggled in recent months after the state GOP attacked him for a lewd sexual article he once wrote for Playboy magazine and for not paying back taxes he owed in 17 states. Despite being outraised, Franken improved upon his fundraising totals from the past quarters.

In Texas, GOP Sen. John Cornyn announced he raised $1.7 million, almost double the total of his Democratic opponent, state Senator Rick Noriega, who raised $930,000. Cornyn now has a formidable $9.4 million warchest, significantly more than Noriega.

Democrats have suggested they have an outside shot at unseating Cornyn, but Noriega’s mediocre fundraising will make that task very difficult – especially in Texas, where it will cost millions to finance a full-fledged advertising blitz throughout the state.

Alexander Burns contributed to this report.

Editor's note: This story was updated to clarify the amount Sen. Dole raised during the same period Hagan reported on.