The third quarter of 2009 ends at midnight. For those of us who write about how congressional campaigns are financed, that means one thing: lots of urgent appeals for last-minute contributions.

Candidates for Congress want to stuff as much money as they can into their third-quarter campaign finance reports, which itemize most receipts and expenditures for July, August and September and are due to the Federal Election Commission by Oct. 15.

The national party committees also get in on the act. They file monthly reports, not quarterly reports, and their September documents are due to the FEC by Oct. 20.

The media and opposing campaigns are eager to analyze these reports for signs of strength or weakness.

Here are some excerpts from fundraising solicitations I’ve seen today: