State Assemblywoman Linda Stender’s second-quarter fundraising report will show that the Democrat raised almost $500,000 from April to June and had $1.2 million in cash on hand for her 7th district open-seat race, according to a campaign press release on Wednesday.

Stender’s nearly half-million-dollar fundraising quarter means that she has raised more than $1.5 million for the cycle, putting her in a strong financial position over state Sen. Leonard Lance (R) in the race to replace retiring-Rep. Mike Ferguson (R) in the north-central New Jersey district.

While Stender was unopposed in her primary battle, Lance is coming off a crowded early June primary in which he spent about $450,000 and earned 40 percent of the vote.

Lance acknowledged Wednesday that he essentially was starting from scratch on the fundraising front after his expensive primary. But in the few short weeks between then and the Federal Election Commission’s June 30 fundraising cutoff date, Lance said, his campaign raised just under $100,000.

“We’re just beginning fundraising for the general,” Lance said. “We’re spending the whole summer raising money.”