North Carolina: Ex-Shuler Aide Raises Big Bucks in 11th District

Democrat Hayden Rogers, the former chief of staff to retiring Rep. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.), raised an impressive $301,000 in the first quarter of this year. Rogers, a conservative Democrat in the mold of Shuler, ended March with $281,000 in cash on hand.

“I have been truly humbled by the support our campaign has received, especially from so many friends across Western North Carolina,” Rogers said in a statement.

Rogers faces a steep uphill battle in North Carolina’s 11th district, the most Republican area in the state. In 2008, voters in the district would have voted only 40 percent for Barack Obama. In 2010, Sen. Richard Burr (R) would have gotten 61 percent of the vote in the redrawn district.

Republicans familiar with the race expect real estate investor Mark Meadows, the frontrunner, to be the GOP nominee.

Roll Call rates the race as Likely Republican.

Arizona: Jeff Flake, Matt Salmon Release Fundraising Numbers

Rep. Jeff Flake raised $935,000 for his Senate bid in the first quarter of the year and ended March with about $3 million in cash on hand.

It is a strong quarter, and Flake is the favorite to win the GOP primary. However, real estate investor Wil Cardon has shown a capacity to self-fund and has been on television with ads, including this one currently on the air funded with a $250,000 buy:

Florida: Allen West Challenger Raises $350,000 in First Quarter

Businessman Patrick Murphy, the Democrat challenging outspoken Florida Rep. Allen West (R), pulled in $350,000 in the first three months of this year, his campaign said. Murphy ended the quarter with more than a million dollars in the bank.

“I am humbled by the support that I have received from contributors big and small,” he said in a statement. “Our campaign is growing every day, in part because the residents of the 18th district need a leader who is going to be a responsible, reasonable voice. They want someone who can not only get to work, but work together.”

West, who courted controversy in recent days by claiming there were scores of Communists in Congress, is one of the best fundraisers in the chamber.

In the off-cycle year of 2011, he raised $5.8 million, according to Federal Election Commission records.

Roll Call rates the 18th district race as Leans Republican.

California: Dan Lungren Raises Half-Million in First Quarter

(Scott J. Ferrell/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Calif.) will report raising a stunning $513,000 in the first quarter, according to numbers obtained by Roll Call.

The three-month haul is about three times what he raised in the prior quarter and marks the first time in nearly three years that he will have posted a stronger quarter than physician Ami Bera (D), a prodigious fundraiser whom Lungren defeated by 7 points in 2010 despite being outspent by $900,000. Full story

Fundraising Numbers Continue to Trickle In

First-quarter fundraising numbers continue to trickle in as the Sunday deadline to file reports with the Federal Election Commission approaches.

The first fundraising period of election years offers indications of which candidates are gaining momentum heading into primary season. It’s the last quarterly report before about half the states hold their Congressional primaries.

This is another daily roundup of candidates who released their numbers in the past 24 hours. It’s heavy on Democrats, who are looking to hold the Senate and win back the House majority.

Senate:

• Arizona: Former Surgeon General Dr. Richard Carmona raised $800,000 in his first full quarter as a candidate. He has $1.1 million in cash on hand. The large amount shows that the fundraising prowess he showed in the fourth quarter was more than just low-hanging fruit.
  
• Connecticut: Rep. Christopher Murphy (D) brought in $855,000 for his Senate campaign to replace retiring Sen. Joe Lieberman (I). He will report about $3 million in the bank. Full story

Fundraising: Campaigns Begin to Release Numbers

Crowing campaigns are beginning to leak their first-quarter fundraising numbers. Generally, any campaign releasing its fundraising numbers this early is happy with its totals. Reports must be postmarked by midnight Sunday.

Missouri: Claire McCaskill Pulls In More Than $2 Million in First Quarter

Vulnerable Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) raised $2.3 million in the first three months of 2012 and ended March with about $6 million in cash on hand.

Full story

New Jersey: Steven Rothman Barely Beats Bill Pascrell in Quarterly Money Chase

Rep. Steven Rothman (above) just barely outraised fellow Rep. Bill Pascrell in the first quarter. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

In New Jersey’s hotly contested Member-vs.-Member Democratic primary, Rep. Steven Rothman narrowly outraised Rep. Bill Pascrell by about $30,000 in the first quarter. Rothman “raised over $540,000,” while Pascrell raised “approximately $510,000,” according to campaign press releases.

As for cash on hand, Rothman had just less than $1.8 million. Pascrell’s campaign did not release its cash total. At year’s end, Pascrell had $1.5 million in the bank, versus Rothman’s $1.7 million.

Full story

New Mexico: Martin Heinrich Raises Nearly $500,000 in First Quarter

Rep. Martin Heinrich is the favorite to win the June Democratic primary in New Mexico's Senate race. (Scott J. Ferrell/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

New Mexico Rep. Martin Heinrich raised $490,000 in the first quarter and had $1.6 million in cash on hand as of the end of March, his Senate campaign announced today.

This is the last quarterly report before Heinrich and state Auditor Hector Balderas face off in the June 5 Democratic primary, which Heinrich is favored to win. Balderas has yet to announce his quarterly numbers, which are due to be postmarked to the Federal Election Commission by midnight on Sunday.

According to the Heinrich campaign, 73 percent of his contributions came from within the state and 80 percent were under $200.

Full story

Florida: Vern Buchanan Pulls In Almost $500,000 in First Quarter

(Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.), under growing ethical scrutiny, will report an impressive $484,000 in fundraising receipts in the first three months of this year, according to an internal memo obtained by Roll Call.

The campaign had about $1.5 million in cash on hand at the end of March, according to the memo to supporters from Celena Thibodeaux, Buchanan’s finance director.

It was unclear if the Congressman’s first-quarter campaign haul included contributions or loans from himself. A call and email to a campaign spokeswoman were not immediately returned this afternoon.

Buchanan, the vice-chairman for finance for the National Republican Congressional Committee, is seen as a top target by Florida and national Democrats, especially after a front-page New York Times story reported an apparently “widening” federal investigations into the Congressman. But his fundraising in the first quarter shows that he continues to have strong financial support and resources available for a campaign.

Full story

Massachusetts: Elizabeth Warren Raises Almost $7M in First Quarter

(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Harvard professor Elizabeth Warren raised an extraordinary $6.9 million in the first quarter of 2012, her campaign manager announced in an email to supporters. That means the presumptive Democratic nominee for Senate in Massachusetts more than doubled the fundraising of Sen. Scott Brown (R), who raised $3.4 million in the first three months of the year.

“Scott Brown still has $4 million more in the bank than we do, and there’s a lot of work ahead to do to close the gap,” campaign manager Mindy Myers wrote. Brown ended March with $15 million in cash on hand, so that means Warren ended the quarter with about $11 million.

Roll Call rates the race as a Tossup.

Massachusetts: Scott Brown Ended March With $15 Million

(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

The campaign of Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown (R) raised $3.4 million in the first quarter of 2012 and had about $15 million in cash on hand — a huge war chest for his race against Harvard professor and consumer advocate Elizabeth Warren (D).

Warren hasn’t announced her full fundraising haul for the first quarter, but her campaign said it raised $2.5 million from “Massachusetts families.”

Full story

Pennsylvania: Jason Altmire Raises More Than Mark Critz in Past Three Months

Rep. Jason Altmire (above) faces fellow Democratic Rep. Mark Critz in a primary forced by redistricting later this month. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Rep. Jason Altmire raised slightly more than Rep. Mark Critz in the final months before their April 24 Democratic primary in a southwestern Pennsylvania House district.

Altmire’s campaign announced he raised about $330,000 from Jan. 1 through April 4, which is the pre-primary reporting period.

Critz raised about $285,000 during the same period, his top campaign aide confirmed to Roll Call. Full story

Massachusetts: Tisei Posts $350,000 Quarter in Race Against Tierney

(Douglas Graham/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Republican Richard Tisei pulled in an impressive $350,000 in the first quarter of 2012 in his bid to unseat Rep. John Tierney (D-Mass.). Tisei, a former state Senator and GOP nominee for lieutenant governor, managed to raise the substantial sum despite being a Republican in a state that overwhelmingly favors Democrats.

His campaign told Roll Call he ended last month with $454,000 in cash on hand. Tierney’s fundraising numbers for the first quarter were not immediately available.

In the fourth quarter of last year, Tisei raised $312,000 to Tierney’s $161,000, according to Federal Election Commission filings. Full story

Arizona: Ron Barber Pulls In $550,000 in Two Months

Ron Barber is running to replace his old boss, ex-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. (Jonathan Gibby/Getty Images)

Ron Barber, a former aide to Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), is off to a strong start in his campaign to fill the ex-Congresswoman’s seat.

In the reporting period that began Jan. 1 and ended March 28, the Democrat raised almost $550,000 and had nearly $465,000 in the bank.

Barber raised the large sum in less than two months with a big hand from a who’s who of Democratic interest groups and Members. Full story