Former U.S. Attorney Pat Meehan (R) will report raising $580,000 in the fourth quarter of 2009, according to his campaign. That’s a mighty sum for the first-time Congressional candidate, who Republicans lured from a crowded gubernatorial field this summer to run for Rep. Joe Sestak‘s (D-Pa.) suburban Philadelphia seat. Sestak is running for Senate.

Meehan’s campaign did not release a cash on hand total, but said the likely Republican nominee in the southeastern Pennsylvania district has brought in $790,00 since he announced his bid in mid-September.

“These fundraising figures are a reflection of local residents’ dissatisfaction with the direction Congress is taking our country and growing support for my efforts to restore integrity and accountability to Washington,” Meehan said in a statement.

Several Democrats have also announced bids for Sestak’s seats, including state Rep. Bryan Lentz (D), environmental consultant Gail Connor and political consultant E. Teresa Touey. A spokesman for Lentz, the leading candidate in the Democratic primary, did not immediately return a request for comment on his quarterly fundraising totals.

CQ Politics currently rates this general election contest as a Tossup.

UPDATE: A spokesman for Lentz’s campaign came back with a rough estimate of the campaign’s fundraising in the 4th quarter: Lentz will report raising close to $300,000 in the last three months of 2009, giving him a grand total of more than $500,000 for the campaign so far and $450,000 cash on hand.

Also, a Meehan spokesman said that the campaign currently has $695,000 cash on hand.