First District Fundraising Is Competitive So Far

By now it”s probably obvious to readers of Cook”s Outlook that I enjoy reviewing fundraising reports for candidates and political parties. Knowing how much money a campaign raises and spends is a helpful insight into how well a campaign is faring in their quest for victory.

With that in mind, fundraising reports for 1st Congressional District candidates have been filed recently with the Federal Election Commission.  Let”s see how much incumbent Rick Crawford and one of his Democratic challengers, Clark Hall, hauled in last quarter.

The latest reports covered the time period of October 1 to December 31, 2011

Clark Hall
Total raised:  $125,214
Loans: $6,500
Cash on casino online hand: $107,044

Rick Crawford
Total Raised: $124,981
Cash on hand:  $277,636

Clark Hall raised a touch more money than Rick Crawford last quarter, $233 to be exact, and also loaned his campaign $6,500.  Hall ended the quarter with $107,044 in the bank, while Congressman Rick Crawford had $277,636 on hand at the end of the year.  While Crawford currently holds a cash on hand advantage over Clark Hall, Hall still has time to catch up and seems to be on the right track when it comes to fundraising.

Both national parties view this district as a battleground, which means both candidates will be well-funded and their respective parties will likely spend significant resources in various independent expenditures.

Note: The reports for Democratic challenger Gary Latanich are not available on the FEC website. When they are, I”ll update the story.