First-quarter fundraising reports for members of Congress are due by Wednesday, and freshman Rep. Martin Heinrich is the first from New Mexico to file his report. The result: He raised almost $250,000 during his first three months as an elected official.
Heinrich, a Democrat, raised $248,221.77 from January to March, according to his report on the Federal Election Commission Web site. Almost $137,000 came from political action committees.
He spent about $72,000 and had $201,200.02 on hand at the end of the quarter.
I’ll let you know when Reps. Harry Teague and Ben R. Luján file their reports.
One other interesting note from the federal reports that have already been filed: Former U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., paid off an old campaign loan of $20,000 to himself during the last quarter. He raised $21,714 in contributions, though he’s not currently running for any office, according to the finance report he filed.
Pearce, who gave up his House seat last year for an unsuccessful run for Senate, has said he will be on the ballot in 2010, either to try to retake his House seat from Teague or to run for governor.