More cash, more problems

Million-dollar Democratic primary fights are building in Senate races in Kentucky, Nebraska, New Jersey and Oregon, while newly appointed Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) made a statement with more than $3 million raised in the first quarter.

First-quarter financial reports, which were due Tuesday, showed an increase in money raised across the country, as candidates turned in what was, to many of them, their last full fundraising reports before they begin to encounter real scrutiny or face competitive primaries.

{mosads}Wicker’s stunning haul was the best single quarter of the cycle so far among current candidates and put Democrats on notice if they want to go after him in this November’s special election. His opponent, former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove (D), raised a comparatively paltry $450,000.

Democrats attempted to get an earlier special election for former Sen. Trent Lott’s (R-Miss.) seat but were turned down by the state Supreme Court — a decision that has allowed Wicker to assert his fundraising prowess and potentially scare off a serious effort to defeat him.

Democrats’ ability to go after 60 seats in the Senate will largely hinge on races like Mississippi and several races in which they face costly primaries.

In Kentucky, the national Democrats’ choice, Bruce Lunsford, was outraised by businessman Greg Fischer, $550,000 to $280,000. Both can self-fund, though, and Lunsford plugged more than $1 million into his campaign — about twice as much as Fischer but not quite enough to raise Fischer’s contribution limits.

Activist Steve Novick (D) closed the gap on another nationally recruited Democrat in Oregon, state Rep. Jeff Merkley, but still fell about $100,000 shy of Merkley’s $450,000. Novick has proven resilient in the race and leads Merkley in some polling.

In Nebraska, former congressional candidate Scott Kleeb (D) trumped businessman Tony Raimondo (D) $270,000 to $70,000, but Raimondo kicked in $100,000 of his own money and should have the ability to keep pace with Kleeb thanks to his personal wealth.

Whoever emerges from those three primaries will face well-funded GOP opponents. As of March 31, Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) both have more than $5 million cash on hand, while former Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns has $1.3 million for his run at retiring Sen. Chuck Hagel’s (R-Neb.) seat.

The New Jersey Democratic primary took shape in early April, meaning Sen. Frank Lautenberg’s and Rep. Robert Andrews’s numbers don’t yet include funds raised directly for that match-up.

Andrews actually spent more than he raised in the first quarter and saw his cash on hand fall to $2.2 million. Lautenberg’s campaign did not provide numbers by press time.

In other Senate races, Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) upped his fundraising in anticipation of a challenge from Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich (D), raising $540,000 to Begich’s $260,000; attorney Jim Martin (D) asserted himself in the race against Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) by raising $350,000 in late March alone while Chambliss raised $650,000; and state Treasurer John Kennedy (R) outraised Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) $1.4 million to $1.1 million.

Former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner (D) continued to look unstoppable in the first quarter, raising $2.5 million to former Gov. Jim Gilmore’s (R) $400,000. Warner now holds a 20-to-1 cash advantage in the race.

On the House side, Tuesday’s reports were punctuated by some big performances and some lackluster numbers for the GOP.

Former Hialeah Mayor Raul Martinez (D) raised $620,000 in his first quarter of fundraising, edging Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R), who raised $600,000 and had $1.4 million in cash for a charged battle in South Florida.

State Rep. Harri Anne Smith (R) turned in a big quarter in the race for retiring Rep. Terry Everett’s (R-Ala.) seat, with $250,000 raised.

Former lieutenant governor candidate Ethan Berkowitz (D) outraised Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), $280,000 to $160,000. Meanwhile, Young’s primary opponent, Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell, raised just $30,000 after entering the race in mid-March.

State Sen. Tim Bee (R) matched Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’s (D-Ariz.) $470,000 raised, while Democrats Mark Schauer and Suzanne Kosmas continued to outraise Reps. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) and Tom Feeney (R-Fla.), respectively.

In Pennsylvania’s 10th congressional district primary, businessmen Chris Hackett and Dan Meuser have spent more than $2 million combined on their primary next week for the right to face freshman Rep. Chris Carney (D).

As of two weeks ago, Meuser had just $70,000 and Hackett had just $170,000. After Meuser plugged another $225,000 into his campaign on Monday, he has now self-funded $1.4 million for the race, compared to Hackett’s $740,000. Carney has $970,000 cash on hand.

Another GOPer short on cash was businessman Steve Greenberg. The highly touted recruit showed just $5,000 cash on hand and $75,000 in vendor debt for his race against Rep. Melissa Bean (D-Ill.), who raised $420,000 for the quarter and should show well over $1 million cash on hand.

Greenberg, who spent half a million dollars on a relatively uncompetitive primary, said he is reserving his ability to self-fund his campaign until later in the race.

“We’re not going to be held by some arbitrary deadline that Washington politicians and pundits created,” Greenberg said. “I come from a family business, so I don’t have quarterly reports. The only deadline that really matters for me is Election Day.”

In notable primaries, former state Rep. Ed Fallon (D) raised $170,000 for his upstart primary challenge to Rep. Leonard Boswell (D-Iowa) but retained just $20,000 cash on hand, while Boswell raised $260,000. Fairfax County Board Chairman Gerry Connolly (D) outraised former Rep. Leslie Byrne $500,000 to $230,000 in their race for retiring Rep. Tom Davis’s (R-Va.) seat.