Dems’ fundraising tops that of GOP in federal races

Democrats outraised Republicans in every federal race in New Mexico during the last reporting period.

In the 2nd Congressional District race, Democrat Harry Teague raised $377,084, including an $80,000 loan he made to his campaign, from May 15 to June 30, according to the report he filed with the Federal Election Commission. His Republican opponent, Ed Tinsley, raised 314,485, according to his FEC report. Teague’s advantage came only because of his self-financing.

In the 1st Congressional District race, Democrat Martin Heinrich raised $510,571, according to his FEC report. His Republican opponent, Darren White, raised 351,933, according to his FEC report.

In the 3rd Congressional District race, Democrat Ben R. Luján raised 330,516, including a $150,000 loan he made to his campaign, according to his FEC report. His Republican opponent, Dan East, raised 10,355, according to his FEC report.

But the fundraising advantage for Democrats doesn’t mean they’re all in better financial shape. Teague spent $301,781 during the period, leaving him with $75,303 on hand on July 1. Tinsley spent $335,518 and had $111,530 on hand on July 1.

Heinrich was in much better shape, having spent $362,290 during the reporting period and ending it with $354,165 on hand. But White, who had a much easier time in the primary, spent only $100,665 during the reporting period and ended it with a whopping $634,307 on hand.

Luján spent $405,666 during the reporting period and ended it with $92,446 in the bank. East spent $14,706 and ended the reporting period with $10,776 on hand.

Meanwhile, as I reported last week, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee plans to pump a combined $2.5 million in TV advertising into the 1st and 2nd district races in September and October.

Races shaping up as expected

The bottom line? It’s what most expected: The 1st and 2nd district races will be hotly contested. East, on the other hand, needs something miraculous to happen.

In a news release, Teague said no other Democratic candidate in the history of the 2nd district has ever raised as much money as he has this election cycle.

“I’m honored by the support I’ve received from across the country, and I want to especially thank the men and women of New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District who fund my campaign,” he said. “In Congress, I will fight for the same working families who support my campaign day in and day out, and not for special interests outside of the 2nd District and outside of New Mexico.”

Heinrich said his fundraising topped White’s in the period despite the fact that White raised $317,000 “in a matter of hours” from a fundraiser with President Bush.

“In my conversations with residents from Mountainair to Los Lunas to Albuquerque, one thing has become clear: New Mexicans are starving for real leadership and a new direction,” Heinrich said in a news release. “I am encouraged that so many people are taking an active role in getting our country back on the right track, and I am honored by their support.”

Luján pointed out that he outraised East 17 to one.

“My campaign is about the people of New Mexico and I am thankful for all of their support, whether it’s in contributions, making phone calls, knocking on doors or attending events,” he said in a news release. “I have hard work to do in the next few months, but the support I’ve received will make it easier to visit with the people of New Mexico and talk with them about how we can put working families first.”

White was the only Republican House candidate to release a statement about his fundraising.

“The general election is less than four months away and I am honored that I continue to receive strong support from so many New Mexicans,” he said. “We are picking up momentum and the strong grassroots support demonstrates that New Mexicans are ready to shake up Washington with honest, independent leadership.”

The Democratic Party of New Mexico was quick to slam Tinsley in a news release, pointing out that almost 75 percent of his donations during the reporting period came from outside New Mexico. In addition, according to the release, his report “is littered with contributions from chain restaurants who Tinsley represented as (former) president of the National Restaurant Association.”

Democrats have repeatedly hit Tinsley for owning two homes, one in the 2nd District in Capitan and the other in the 3rd District in Santa Fe. And Tinsley said in a March article that he plans to ensure the restaurant industry’s values “are represented and protected in Washington, D.C.”

“Not only does Ed Tinsley live outside of the 2nd Congressional District, but it appears that his campaign contributors do too,” Josh Geise, executive director of the state Democratic Party, said in the release. “With so many out-of-district contributions from members of the National Restaurant Association, it looks like Ed Tinsley is more interested in representing restaurants in New York, Florida and Massachusetts than the working families in the 2nd Congressional District.”

The U.S. Senate race

Meanwhile, I’ve already written that Democrat Tom Udall raised $2.1 million to Republican Steve Pearce’s $1.2 million from April 1 to June 30. The Pearce campaign spent just over $1.5 million and had $531,624.17 on-hand on July 1, according to a news release from his campaign.

That’s far short of what Udall had on hand at the start of the month. Udall finished what his campaign called his most successful fundraising quarter yet with almost $2.9 million in the bank, raising questions about whether Pearce can keep up when he’s trailing in the polls and facing a huge funding deficit.

Should he choose to self-finance his campaign, Pearce, a Hobbs oilman, has tens of millions of dollars in personal wealth.