WASHINGTON • Sen. Roy Blunt entered 2016 with a more than 2-1 advantage in campaign cash over his Democratic rival Jason Kander, according to year-end financial statements released Wednesday by the two campaigns.

Blunt, R-Mo. raised just under $1.25 million in the last three months of 2015 and ended the year with just over $5 million in his campaign accounts, a statement from Blunt's re-election committee said.

Kander, Missouri's secretary of state, raised about $870,000 in the last three months of 2015 and he started 2016 with more than $2 million, his campaign announced.

The Democrat Kander's final three-month total was his highest of his campaign, and outpaced his third-quarter fund-raising by about $45,000, a spokesman for the campaign said.

The Kander-Blunt matchup has drawn national attention as a sleeper to watch in 2016. Other Senate races are seen as higher profile, including in neighboring Illinois, where incumbent Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., is seeking re-election and is expected to face tough Democratic opposition after a March 15 primary. But Missouri Democrats have touted Kander's fund-raising as evidence that Democratic donors believe he has a chance to win.