Freshman Rep. Christopher Murphy’s (D) challenger announced this week that he has crossed the seven-figure fundraising mark. With the next Federal Election Commission fundraising deadline weeks away, state Sen. David Cappiello’s (R) campaign said he has raised $1 million so far in his effort to defeat Murphy.

Cappiello, however, still has a lot of catching up to do: Murphy has raised almost $1.8 million so far, with $1.5 million still in the bank as of the last filing deadline covering the cycle through April 22.

Murphy won his office in 2006 by defeating longtime moderate Rep. Nancy Johnson (R) by 10 points. Until then, the 5th district was considered a tossup, with President Bush and Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) essentially splitting the White House vote in 2004.

— Shira Toeplitz