Eric J. Shelton, Mississippi Today/ Report for America

Democrat Mike Espy, who’s gunning for the Senate seat currently held by Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, says his campaign has raised more money than Hyde-Smith and conservative firebrand state Sen. Chris McDaniel in the third quarter of 2018.

Preliminary campaign finance reports filed Monday show that Espy, a former congressman and U.S. secretary of agriculture, raised $1.17 million between July 1 and Sept. 30. Hyde-Smith, who was appointed to fill retired Sen. Thad Cochran’s Senate term in April, raised $1.08 million in the same period. McDaniel raised $205,000 in the third quarter.

Lesser-known Democrat Tobey Bartee did not file a finance report with the Federal Election Commission.

While Espy raked in the cash in the third quarter, he still has much less cash on hand than Hyde-Smith, who has benefitted from big donations from major Washington, D.C., political action committees.

Hyde-Smith reported just under $1 million cash on hand, while McDaniel reported about $172,000 cash on hand. How much Espy has on hand was unavailable Monday night.