State Sen. Andrew Harris (R) appears to have moved quickly out of the chute in his GOP primary challenge to nine-term Rep. Wayne Gilchrest (R).

Harris announced Monday that he raised $174,000 in his first month as a candidate and finished June with almost $158,000 on hand. Harris said 596 people have contributed to his campaign so far.

“Our fundraising total is proof that people in our district realize how much Wayne Gilchrest has changed since we sent him to Washington 17 years ago,” Harris, the latest in a string of conservative primary challengers to Gilchrest, said in a statement. “Voters sent Wayne to change Washington, but over the years Washington changed him instead.”

Gilchrest, a leading House GOP moderate who has become increasingly critical of President Bush’s Iraq War policies, has yet to release his fundraising totals for the second quarter of the year. Through March 31, he had $324,000 in his campaign account.
— Josh Kurtz