NASHVILLE - Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Phil Bredesen is reporting having raised more than $1.8 million during the first quarter, but the former Tennessee governor says he also loaned or guaranteed loans of $1.4 million to "jump start" his effort in an ambitious television ad and digital ad buy.



"After launching in early December with no fundraising apparatus in place, the campaign is now fully operational at every level," said April Orange, the Bredesen campaign's finance director, in a news release. "We will continue accelerating fundraising efforts to amass the resources required to win in November."



First quarter disclosure reports covering the Jan. 1 through March 31 reporting period were due to the U.S. Senate clerk's office and Federal Election Commission on Sunday.



The news release did not state what his cash balance was as of March 31.



The Bredesen for Senate says it has collected a total of more than $3.7 million. The next FEC report will be filed July 15, for the period ending June 30.



Not including loans, the Bredesen campaign says it raised on average more than $20,000 per day during the first quarter, which the campaign also says is "on par with daily averages reported by other U.S. Senate campaigns."



Bredesen, a millionaire businessman who served two terms as Tennessee governor, faces U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., in the November election.