It's early, but the first wave of quarterly fundraising reports has produced some pretty impressive numbers for Republican congressional challengers and open seat candidates. In Florida, state Rep. David Rivera pulled in $700,000 in his campaign for Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart's seat. Former Arizona legislator Jonathan Paton raised a half-million dollars in his bid to take on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Illinois businessman Robert Dold, who won the GOP's nod to run for Rep. Mark Kirk's vacant seat, took in $500,000 last quarter, too. And North Dakota Rep. Rick Berg reported taking in $380,000 in his campaign against Rep. Earl Pomeroy, overwhelmingly in cash that came in after Berg won the GOP nomination just weeks ago. Some Democrats are reporting big numbers too: Colorado Rep. Betsy Markey posted $505,000 in donations, which her team said picked up after the freshman voted for health care reform, and Providence Mayor David Cicilline raised a stunning $725,000 in his campaign to succeed Rhode Island Rep. Patrick Kennedy.
It stands to reason that we'd be seeing impressive fundraising reports first: candidates don't have to report their totals for a few weeks and if they didn't want to brag a bit they wouldn't be trying to get their numbers out this early. And for some of these candidates, who only recently declared their campaigns, these numbers represent the easy gets — reliable contributors maxing out to familiar candidates like Rivera and Cicilline, which can't happen every quarter. Still, it's a sign of the hyper-charged political atmosphere that candidates like Rivera and Cicilline are raising money that would make them viable in smaller-scale Senate elections, let alone House races in relatively secure districts.
This article is available only to our premium digital content subscribers.
Early reports show huge hauls
By
Politico Contributor
It's early, but the first wave of quarterly fundraising reports has produced some pretty impressive numbers for Republican congressional challengers and open seat candidates. In Florida, state Rep. David Rivera pulled in $700,000 in his campaign for Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart's seat. Former Arizona legislator Jonathan Paton raised a half-million dollars in his bid to take on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Illinois businessman Robert Dold, who won the GOP's nod to run for Rep. Mark Kirk's vacant seat, took in $500,000 last quarter, too. And North Dakota Rep. Rick Berg reported taking in $380,000 in his campaign against Rep. Earl Pomeroy, overwhelmingly in cash that came in after Berg won the GOP nomination just weeks ago. Some Democrats are reporting big numbers too: Colorado Rep. Betsy Markey posted $505,000 in donations, which her team said picked up after the freshman voted for health care reform, and Providence Mayor David Cicilline raised a stunning $725,000 in his campaign to succeed Rhode Island Rep. Patrick Kennedy.
It stands to reason that we'd be seeing impressive fundraising reports first: candidates don't have to report their totals for a few weeks and if they didn't want to brag a bit they wouldn't be trying to get their numbers out this early. And for some of these candidates, who only recently declared their campaigns, these numbers represent the easy gets — reliable contributors maxing out to familiar candidates like Rivera and Cicilline, which can't happen every quarter. Still, it's a sign of the hyper-charged political atmosphere that candidates like Rivera and Cicilline are raising money that would make them viable in smaller-scale Senate elections, let alone House races in relatively secure districts.
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By Politico Contributor
It's early, but the first wave of quarterly fundraising reports has produced some pretty impressive numbers for Republican congressional challengers and open seat candidates. In Florida, state Rep. David Rivera pulled in $700,000 in his campaign for Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart's seat. Former Arizona legislator Jonathan Paton raised a half-million dollars in his bid to take on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Illinois businessman Robert Dold, who won the GOP's nod to run for Rep. Mark Kirk's vacant seat, took in $500,000 last quarter, too. And North Dakota Rep. Rick Berg reported taking in $380,000 in his campaign against Rep. Earl Pomeroy, overwhelmingly in cash that came in after Berg won the GOP nomination just weeks ago. Some Democrats are reporting big numbers too: Colorado Rep. Betsy Markey posted $505,000 in donations, which her team said picked up after the freshman voted for health care reform, and Providence Mayor David Cicilline raised a stunning $725,000 in his campaign to succeed Rhode Island Rep. Patrick Kennedy.
It stands to reason that we'd be seeing impressive fundraising reports first: candidates don't have to report their totals for a few weeks and if they didn't want to brag a bit they wouldn't be trying to get their numbers out this early. And for some of these candidates, who only recently declared their campaigns, these numbers represent the easy gets — reliable contributors maxing out to familiar candidates like Rivera and Cicilline, which can't happen every quarter. Still, it's a sign of the hyper-charged political atmosphere that candidates like Rivera and Cicilline are raising money that would make them viable in smaller-scale Senate elections, let alone House races in relatively secure districts.
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This article is available only to our premium digital content subscribers.
Early reports show huge hauls
By
Politico Contributor
It's early, but the first wave of quarterly fundraising reports has produced some pretty impressive numbers for Republican congressional challengers and open seat candidates. In Florida, state Rep. David Rivera pulled in $700,000 in his campaign for Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart's seat. Former Arizona legislator Jonathan Paton raised a half-million dollars in his bid to take on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Illinois businessman Robert Dold, who won the GOP's nod to run for Rep. Mark Kirk's vacant seat, took in $500,000 last quarter, too. And North Dakota Rep. Rick Berg reported taking in $380,000 in his campaign against Rep. Earl Pomeroy, overwhelmingly in cash that came in after Berg won the GOP nomination just weeks ago. Some Democrats are reporting big numbers too: Colorado Rep. Betsy Markey posted $505,000 in donations, which her team said picked up after the freshman voted for health care reform, and Providence Mayor David Cicilline raised a stunning $725,000 in his campaign to succeed Rhode Island Rep. Patrick Kennedy.
It stands to reason that we'd be seeing impressive fundraising reports first: candidates don't have to report their totals for a few weeks and if they didn't want to brag a bit they wouldn't be trying to get their numbers out this early. And for some of these candidates, who only recently declared their campaigns, these numbers represent the easy gets — reliable contributors maxing out to familiar candidates like Rivera and Cicilline, which can't happen every quarter. Still, it's a sign of the hyper-charged political atmosphere that candidates like Rivera and Cicilline are raising money that would make them viable in smaller-scale Senate elections, let alone House races in relatively secure districts.
