Consultant Ruben Gallego, the anticipated Democratic nominee for Senate in Arizona, raised $7.5 million within the first three months of the yr, his marketing campaign stated on Tuesday, a big sum for what’s prone to be a aggressive normal election race within the battleground state.
The haul of marketing campaign money provides to a robust fund-raising cycle to date for Mr. Gallego, a former Marine and progressive congressman whose candidacy will take a look at how keen Arizonans are to elect a senator who’s decidedly left of middle. After a long time of being a reliably Republican state, Arizona has elected a succession of Democrats to statewide workplace lately.
In November, Mr. Gallego, who has no main major challengers, is prone to face Kari Lake, a former tv anchor and shut ally of former President Donald J. Trump. That contest will decide who will succeed Senator Kyrsten Sinema, who’s not in search of re-election. Ms. Lake faces a major challenger, Sheriff Mark Lamb of Pinal County, however leads him by a large margin in polls.
To this point, Mr. Gallego has raised extra money than Ms. Lake, who has not but launched her most up-to-date quarterly fund-raising numbers. Ms. Lake is a more moderen entrant to the race than Mr. Gallego, who introduced his run in January 2023. Within the final quarter of 2023, his marketing campaign raised $3.3 million, whereas hers netted $2.1 million.
Mr. Gallego’s most up-to-date tally compares favorably with sums raised by Democratic incumbents akin to Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio ($6.6 million within the final three months of 2023) and Senator Jon Tester of Montana ($5.5 million in the identical interval), although it’s troublesome to check fund-raising numbers throughout states.
His funding edge, if it continues, might permit him to flood the airwaves with promoting in a state that has a comparatively costly tv market. Mr. Gallego’s marketing campaign spent about $1 million on his first commercial of the cycle, which started working in March. Ms. Lake, who additionally ran for governor in 2022, beat him to the airwaves, broadcasting her first advert in January.
The Gallego marketing campaign — saying its rosy fund-raising numbers two weeks earlier than the required April 15 deadline — stated that it had greater than $9.6 million money available, and that greater than 100,000 individuals donated within the final quarter, greater than half of whom had been first-time donors.
“Because of the assist of lots of of 1000’s of small-dollar donors who’ve chipped in what they might to assist elect Ruben Gallego, we’re constructing the infrastructure to win this November,” Nichole Johnson, Mr. Gallego’s marketing campaign supervisor, stated in an announcement.
Outdoors teams might assist make up any deficit Ms. Lake faces in fund-raising. She has the backing of the Nationwide Republican Senatorial Committee, a gaggle devoted to electing Republicans to the Senate, and has raised cash with high Senate Republicans like John Barrasso of Wyoming. She took in $330,000 at a fund-raiser in Washington alongside almost 20 Senate Republicans final month, and can increase extra money at Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago membership in Florida this week.
Mr. Gallego, too, might be buoyed by exterior teams. The Senate Majority PAC, a Democratic group, introduced a $239 million tv reservation final month throughout seven states, together with $23 million in Arizona.