Campaign roundup: Bachmann leads July fundraising among MN congressional candidates

Michele Bachmann

Minnesota’s congressional delegation — and those who hope to unseat them this fall — have released their fundraising numbers ahead of the August primary election, and unsurprisingly, former presidential candidate Michele Bachmann is leading the pack.

Bachmann, running for her fourth term representing Minnesota’s Sixth Congressional District, pulled in just more than $1 million from July 1 to July 25, easily surpassing her fellow Minnesota congressmen and women in total fundraising hauls. She’s also beating her Democratic opponent Jim Graves, who raised $64,000 in the same time period.

Some of the lowest fundraising totals came in from the first and fourth congressional districts. GOP candidate Anthony Hernandez, who is hoping to unseat DFL incumbent Rep. Betty McCollum, raised the least of any candidate this period with $5,700. The low fundraising totals are somewhat surprising in the state’s First Congressional District; Republicans Allen Quist and Mike Parry are on the final lap of a heated intra-party battle to take on incumbent Rep. Tim Walz this fall, but the two pulled in meager totals in July: Quist raised $18,800 (including a $10,000 loan from himself), with Parry coming in only slightly ahead in individual contributions at $8,890.

Here’s a roundup of all of the congressional candidate’s pre-primary campaign finance numbers:

First Congressional District

Allen Quist (GOP): Raised $18,800 – including $10,000 he loaned to the campaign – spent $66,135 and closed the reporting period with $117,878 in the bank.

Mike Parry (GOP): Raised $8,890, spent $11,701 and has $27,797 on hand.

Tim Walz (incumbent, DFL): Raised $27,845, spent $28,611 and had about $807,909 in his war chest.

Second Congressional District

Mike Obermueller (DFL): Raised $54,505, spent $41,391 with $227,283 on hand.

John Kline (incumbent, GOP): Raised $110,270, spent $91,432 with $1.35 million still in the bank.

Third Congressional District

Brian Barnes (DFL): Raised $26,735 raised, spent $33,213 with $50,074 on hand.

Erik Paulsen (incumbent, GOP):  Raised $54,309 and spent $51,228 with about $1.6 million in the bank.

Fourth Congressional District

Anthony Hernandez (GOP): Raised $5,700, spent about $2,506 and has $5,370 on hand.

Betty McCollum (incumbent, DFL): Raised $12,270, spent about $48,545 and has $170,199 yet to spend.

Fifth Congressional District

Chris Fields (GOP): Raised $31,126 with $51,609 cash on hand.

Keith Ellison (incumbent, DFL): Raised $103,890 with $126,841 cash on hand.

Sixth Congressional District

Jim Graves (DFL): Raised $64,000, spent $116,000 and $351,000 cash on hand.

Michele Bachmann (incumbent, GOP): Raised $1.08 million, spent $692,000 (much of it on fundraising expenses), and has $2.05 million cash on hand.

Seventh Congressional District

Lee Byberg (GOP): Raised $25,000, spent $50,000 and has $91,000 cash on hand, but about $120,000 in outstanding debt.

Collin Peterson (incumbent, DFL): Raised $67,000, spent $68,000 and has $799,000 cash on hand.

Eighth Congressional District

Rick Nolan (DFL): Raised $27,000, spent $33,000 and has $87,000 cash on hand.

Tarryl Clark (DFL): Raised $65,500, spent $225,000 spent, mostly on advertising, and $98,000 cash on hand.

Jeff Anderson (DFL): Raised $8,000, spent $19,000 and $7,000 cash on hand.

Chip Cravaack (incumbent, GOP): Raised $59,000, spent $39,000 and has $916,000 cash on hand.