Embattled Rep. Don Young (R) raised $164,000 in the first financial reporting quarter of this year, giving him a total of $870,976 so far this cycle.

According to campaign spokesman Michael Anderson, Young’s legal fees are also declining. Anderson said Young’s campaign paid $230,000 in legal fees in the four-month period from December to March — a significant decrease in pace from the the reported $1.1 million he has spent in total so far this cycle.

Anderson also said this was the Congressman’s best fundraising period since the first quarter of 2006. He pointed out, though, that the campaign has no control over how much its legal fees will cost in the future.

“Any time we can start making a dent in our legal expenses, that’s important,” Anderson said.

Young’s primary challenger, Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell (R), who announced his bid two weeks before this year’s first campaign finance report deadline, said in a phone interview that he would announce his fundraising progress on April 15.

“I’ve just been happily surprised with the overwhelming support,” Parnell said. “Not a lot of big dollar donors, but lots of grass-roots support. That’s exactly what got the governor elected last time.”

The leading Democratic candidate, former state House Minority Leader Ethan Berkowitz, announced this week that he raised more than $275,000 in the first quarter of 2008, leaving him with an election total of $400,000 in donations and $280,000 in cash on hand.
— Shira Toeplitz