The Democrat challenging Republican John McCain for his Arizona Senate seat is set to announce that she’s matched him in the latest campaign fundraising report, according to the Arizona Republic.
Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-Ariz.) will report that her campaign raised more than $1.8 million in the second quarter of 2016 — a period covering the months of April, May and June.
{mosads}“Thousands of Americans have rallied behind our campaign because they’re tired of the gridlock and the misguided priorities of Washington insiders like McCain,” Kirkpatrick said in a statement published by the Arizona Republic newspaper.
“Thanks to their support, we’re spreading our message of ‘Arizona First’ in every community and building the largest field operation to engage voters this state has ever seen.”
Kirkpatrick’s second quarter total would nearly double the previous best fundraising quarter for the congresswoman.
McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee and a veteran senator from Arizona, announced Monday that his campaign raised $1.8 million in the second quarter, ending June with $5.8 million in cash on hand. Kirkpatrick finished June with $2.5 million in cash on hand, according to the Arizona Republic.
“I am proud of another strong fundraising quarter and am overwhelmed by the outpouring of support for my campaign,” McCain said in a statement.
Kirkpatrick catching up to McCain in fundraising would build on the notion that the Arizona senator is in an increasingly frantic race to save his seat.
The latest RealClearPolitics average of polls for the Arizona Senate race has McCain leading Kirkpatrick by
5.5 percentage points.
Arizona has a sizable Hispanic population, and Donald Trump’s emergence as the presumptive GOP presidential nominee has caused Democrats to believe they can swing the state from red to blue.
McCain has privately acknowledged to supporters that Trump is damaging his reelection chances by alienating Hispanics through comments such as his assertion that the Mexican government is sending rapists and drug dealers into the U.S.
McCain is nonetheless supporting Trump, despite Trump denigrating his Vietnam War service by suggesting that McCain was only a war hero because he was captured by enemy troops.
Updated 2:42 p.m.
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