U.S. Rep. Harry Teague (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
U.S. Rep. Harry Teague, D-N.M., raised $132,843.18 for his re-election campaign in the first three months of the year – enough to keep him about $200,000 ahead of his Republican opponent, Steve Pearce, in overall fundraising during the election cycle.
Teague raised $80,052.83 from individuals, $52,750 from political action committees and $40.35 from a political party committee, according to the report he filed today with the Federal Election Commission.
From January through March, Teague’s campaign spent $88,840.56. The campaign ended the quarter with $927,301.16 on hand.
The Teague campaign put out no statement about his fundraising, but a statement came from Democratic Party of New Mexico spokesman James Hallinan. His statement talked about Pearce more than it talked about Teague.
“Congressman Steve Pearce must be getting tired,” Hallinan said in the release. “He’s running around touting his fundraising success and all the support he’s getting from his Washington insider friends while at the same time trying to run away from his 6-year record as a champion for George Bush’s failed economic policies.”
“You can’t blame Congressman Pearce for hiding from his failed record as he tries desperately to get back to Washington, but New Mexicans remember that Congressman Pearce stood with George Bush more often than he stood up for his own district,” Hallinan said. “And that is why people from Hobbs to Roswell, Carlsbad to Las Cruces, Silver City to Los Lunas, and everywhere in between are throwing their support behind Harry Teague.”
Teague does lead in fundraising to date in what is one of the hottest House races in the nation: He’s raised $1,246,571.91 for his re-election campaign and ended March with $927,301.16 in the bank, while Pearce has raised a total of $1,037,585 for his campaign and ended March with $708,891.67 in the bank.
But Pearce has been raising money at a quicker pace since he got into the race than Teague. In the first quarter of 2010, Pearce’s fundraising was more than twice that of Teague. He reported today that he raised $277,447.64 and spent $138,101.43 during the quarter.