Senate money flows in

Former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner (D) raised $1.1 million in the third quarter, bringing him into a virtual cash tie with Rep. Tom Davis (R) after less than three weeks of fundraising.

Warner’s haul helped him join the ranks of some of the top Senate fundraisers in the country in the third quarter. Only one Democratic challenger, Minnesota candidate Al Franken, raised more money from individuals, according to numbers available by press time Monday.

{mosads}Third-quarter reports, which cover the three months from July 1-Sept. 30, were due by midnight Monday.

Davis, who is expected to join the Senate race in the coming months and has been building a war chest, saw his fundraising slow down from the first two quarters of the cycle, raising $220,000. Both he and Warner have about $1 million cash on hand. Former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore (R) is also considering running for the seat, but has not formally announced a bid.

The numbers were encouraging for Democratic candidates in some key races, while vulnerable GOP incumbents continued to raise millions for their reelection campaigns.

Rep. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) , also raised $1.1 million for his bid against former Rep. Bob Schaffer (R-Colo.), who had not released numbers by press time. Udall has more than $3 million cash on hand.

In Minnesota, Franken led Sen. Norm Coleman (R) in fundraising for the second straight quarter, edging him $1.9 million to $1.7 million even after Coleman received fundraising help from President Bush.

Franken is burning through cash faster, though, and has roughly half of Coleman’s $5 million cash on hand.

Attorney Mike Ciresi, who is facing Franken in the Democratic primary, saw a 50 percent drop-off in fundraising from the second quarter, raising $310,000.

In Texas, wealthy self-funding attorney Mikal Watts (D) and state Rep. Rick Noriega (D) both raised about $570,000, with Watts kicking in another $3.7 million in loans to his campaign.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) continued his strong fundraising, pulling in $1.7 million. Watts’s loans have given him an $8.3 million to $6.6 million cash edge over Cornyn.

Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesman Matthew Miller said the fundraising shows voters are still behind Democrats.

“Our candidates are showing great success in fundraising because the country wants change and Democrats will deliver it,” Miller said.

While some Democratic candidates continue to prove their viability, several Republican incumbents will extend their sizeable early cash advantages.

In Oregon, Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) raised $825,000 and has $4 million cash on hand, while both of his Democratic challengers, national party-recruited state Rep. Jeff Merkley and former Justice Department attorney Steve Novick, both raised less than $300,000 and have around $200,000 in cash.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) raised $1.6 million and has $6.8 million on hand. State Attorney General Greg Stumbo, who has formed an exploratory committee for the race, is telling supporters this week that he is not filing a third third-quarter report because he doesn’t yet have to.

Former New Hampshire Gov. Jeanne Shaheen (D), like Warner, had just weeks until Sept. 30 to raise money after announcing her candidacy. She turned in a much more  much more modest $190,000 and has ground to make up against Sen. John Sununu (R), who had $2.1 million cash on hand after the second quarter but did not provide third third-quarter numbers by press time.

National Republican Senatorial Committee spokeswoman Rebecca Fisher said the numbers show that GOP candidates will have the resources needed to win.

“This was a strong quarter for many Senate Republicans and that momentum will only continue as next November draws near,” Fisher said.