Most Eye-Popping Fundraising Hauls of the Second Quarter ... So Far

By Abby Livingston

Posted July 12, 2013 at 2:26pm

After the drip-drip of campaign fundraising leaks over the past two weeks, it’s now clear that the amount of money it took to look impressive is staggering.

Challengers and incumbents raised the bar so high that to be considered a standout this time around, a candidate had to have raised $2 million for a Senate campaign or more than half a million for the House.

A number of nervous senators raised more than a million dollars in the second quarter, but it was the $2 million mark that made us look twice at recent reports.

As for the House, it was only last cycle when $200,000 to $400,000 marks were above-average for candidates in competitive races. That is no longer the case. At least 10 incumbents or challengers raised between $400,000 and $500,000 this quarter.

Here are some of the numbers raised our eyebrows over the past two weeks:

Senate: Breaking the $2 Million Barrier

#NJSEN: Newark Mayor Cory Booker, a Democrat, raised $4.6 million and will report having $4.5 million in cash on hand for his special-election bid.
#KYSEN: Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell raised $2.3 million and will report $9.6 million in cash on hand.
#MNSEN: Democratic Sen. Al Franken raised $1.97 million in the second quarter, according to his campaign.
#NCSEN: Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan raised $2 million and will report having $4.2 million in cash on hand, according to a campaign press release.
#TNSEN: Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander raised “around” $2 million, according to his campaign.

House: ‘The $500K Club’

#WI01:

Rep. Paul D. Ryan raised $1.1 million and reported nearly $2.2 million in the bank, according to his campaign fundraising report.
#CA17: Rep. Michael M. Honda’s Democratic primary challenger Ro Khanna raised “more than” $1 million and has $1.7 million in cash on hand.
#PA09:
Transportation Chairman Bill Shuster, R-Pa., raised a whopping $647,000. He will report $916,000 in cash on hand, according to PoliticsPA.
#Co06: Republican Rep. Mike Coffman raised $566,000 in the second quarter and will report $855,000 in the bank, per KDVR.
#CO06: Democratic former Colorado Speaker Andrew Romanoff trailed Coffman in fundraising but he still raised more than $500,000 and has nearly $920,000 in the bank.
#FL18: Democratic Rep. Patrick Murphy raised more than $520,000 and has $1 million in the bank, according to a campaign press release.
#PA08: Republican Rep. Michael G. Fitzpatrick raised $502,000 for his re-election bid and will report $681,000 in the bank, according to a national GOP source.