WASHINGTON — The money race between Congressman Mike Michaud and his Republican challenger, Senate President Kevin Raye, appears to be tightening as Raye outraised the Democratic incumbent in the 2nd Congressional District over a five-week period.
The race for Maine’s 1st Congressional District remains lopsided, however, with Democratic U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree enjoying a massive cash advantage over her opponent this November, Republican state Sen. Jonathan Courtney.
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Raye, R-Perry, reported raising more than $165,000 between May 24 and June 30, the timeframe covered by campaign finance reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission on Sunday. Michaud, by comparison, reported raising just shy of $109,000 during that time.
Raye’s campaign suggested that their recent success in wooing donors is a sign.
“Kevin’s strong fundraising performance is in keeping with what we’re seeing on the campaign trail. People are responding well to his positive message,” Rob Caverly, Raye’s campaign manager, said in a statement.
Nonetheless, Michaud’s campaign war chest remains significantly larger than Raye’s. The five-term incumbent reported $634,658 in cash remaining in his campaign account, compared to Raye’s $242,341, according to the FEC filings.
And Michaud’s campaign pointed out that the congressman raised more money than Raye between April 1 and June 30. Most FEC reports cover a full three-month period, however the reports due on Sunday only covered since May 24 because the campaign had already filed interim reports prior to Maine’s June 8 primary.
“We feel pretty good,” said Greg Olson, Michaud’s campaign manager. “We have been focused on the fact that we would have a competitive race … and we have been aggressively raising money since the end of the last race. So we are happy with the pace we have set.”
In southern Maine’s congressional race, Pingree continued to outpace Courtney by significant margins both in terms of cash flow into the campaign and money available to spend.
Pingree reported raising $166,630 during the five-week period included in the July 15th FEC filing, compared to $15,678 raised by the Courtney campaign. In terms of available cash, Pingree had $349,451 in her campaign fund while Courtney reported $19,360, according to an amended report filed by the Courtney campaign.
But Keith Herrick, Courtney’s campaign manager, said the Republican contender had not held any fundraisers prior to the June 30 cutoff date for the FEC report.
“We have held three since the end of the reporting period and they have been very well attended,” Herrick said Sunday night.
“We obviously know we are never going to raise as much money as the Pingree campaign, and we are fine with that,” he said, adding that Courtney believes that his message is resonating with voters.
Pingree is married to financier S. Donald Sussman, a contributor to Democratic and charitable causes and the majority share owner of MaineToday Media, which owns The Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram, the Kennebec Journal in Augusta, the Morning Sentinel in Waterville and other media outlets in Maine.
This story will be updated.
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