Sen. Debbie Stabenow raised $1.5 million in the first quarter of this year — a sum her campaign called her "best fundraising quarter ever." The Michigan Democrat banked about $7 million by the end of March for her race against the likely GOP nominee, former Rep. Pete Hoekstra. Stabenow faced the first tough re-election challenge of her career at the start of the 2012 cycle. But Hoekstra stumbled earlier this year when his campaign released a controversial Super Bowl spot that even Republicans criticized for its racial overtones. (more…)
