Warren raises $3.15M; Brown raises $1.55M

Elizabeth Warren raised more than $3 million in a little more than six weeks to fund her Senate bid in Massachusetts — more than twice the figure pulled in by incumbent Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.).

The astounding figure anchors the notion that Warren will be a formidable candidate both in the Democratic primary and — if she wins the primary — against Brown.

Warren pulled in $3.15 million in total for the third quarter, with more than 11,000 people in Massachusetts pitching in, her campaign announced Monday. Brown raised $1.55 million in the third quarter — almost exactly half of Warren’s total. But Brown, who wielded a hefty war chest heading into his reelection campaign, now has more than $10 million in the bank.

{mosads}Warren also demonstrated the ability to cast a wide net instead of relying on big-figure donations; only 1 in 20 contributions were for more than $100, the campaign said.

“With the big banks and special interests lining up against us, we know it’s going to take a strong, grassroots campaign to win,” Warren said in an email to supporters.

A Warren campaign aide told The Hill that while some of the money started flowing in after Warren launched an exploratory committee Aug. 18, the vast majority was raised after she officially entered the race on Sept. 14. The third quarter fundraising period covers July, August and September.

Since announcing her campaign, Warren has catapulted to the head of the pack of Democrats vying to take on Brown. A Western New England University poll conducted Sept. 29 to Oct. 5 showed Warren with the highest favorability among the five Democratic candidates.

Two of the seven primary candidates dropped out after Warren entered the race, citing the intense momentum behind her and noting that they no longer saw a viable path to victory with her in the race.

Warren has also pulled within a few points of Brown in a general-election matchup, according to multiple polls.

Meanwhile, Brown has proven a strong and effective fundraiser: He had almost $10 million cash on hand at the end of June, having pulled in $3.4 million in the second quarter. Brown will also likely have the support of national Republican campaign groups hesitant to give up their control over a Senate seat in Democrat-leaning Massachusetts steeped in symbolism: Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) held the seat for more than four decades until he died in 2009 and Brown won the seat in a special election.

Alan Khazei, one of Warren’s primary opponents, raised $365,000 during the third quarter, bringing his total for the past six months to $1.3 million, his campaign told The Hill. Khazei has about $750,000 in cash and no debt.

Warren will also have the benefit of major Democratic groups who are fundraising on her behalf. EMILY’s List, a group that supports Democratic women who favor abortion rights, has been vocally campaigning for her, as has the liberal Progressive Change Campaign Committee, which has already raised more than $400,000 for Warren.

A former consumer protection advocate under President Obama, Warren was aggressively courted by Democrats in Washington and Massachusetts to run for Senate.

— This story was updated at 4:26 p.m.