Friends of Dave Reichert (R) has corrected its initial fundraising report to the media for the third-quarter reporting period. The Congressman’s campaign raised $294,888 in the third quarter, bringing its grand total this cycle to $766,703 with $339,460 in cash on hand as of Sept. 30.

The two-term Member’s likely general election opponent, 2006 nominee Darcy Burner (D), raised $304,901 in the third quarter and $518,630 so far this cycle. According to federal election records, Burner had $370,228 in cash on hand at the end of last month.

In a statement to the media, Reichert campaign spokesperson Mike Shields said he “made a mistake in representing the amount of money” the campaign raised to the tune of about $47,100.

The incident was first reported by The Associated Press and local news outlets last week.

“I apologize for the mistake and for any incorrect stories that were written or broadcast because of it,” he said. “I encourage media outlets to correct the record.”

Shields also explained that the discrepancy occurred because the campaign committee used a “credit card application” that mistakenly put money in the wrong account, resulting in $47,100 in electronic overpayments that were refunded under FEC law.

Burner campaign spokesman Sandeep Kaushik said that after examining Reichert’s filing, “it seems that the Reichert camp has seriously misled, if not outright lied, to both the public and FEC about their fundraising during the third quarter.”

“Substantial questions still remain unanswered,” Kaushik said. “The recent filing itself appears to be a mess, particularly with respect to the [President] Bush event. Tens of thousands of dollars that should have gone to a joint account created for the Bush visit looks like it was deposited directly into the Reichert campaign’s account, which if true is a serious violation of FEC rules.”

Kaushik added that the Burner campaign is considering seeking further action on the matter “as appropriate.”

— Shira Toeplitz