For the fourth quarter in a row, Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Cotton raised more money than the Democrat he's trying to unseat, incumbent U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor.
Cotton collected more than $2.28 million during the second quarter of the year, his campaign reported Monday. Pryor's campaign released its quarterly fundraising numbers late Friday, touting about $1.5 million in contributions for the quarter, raising its total to $8.95 million for the campaign.
The Cotton campaign had raised more than $7 million, though an exact figure was not available Monday.
The complete Federal Election Commission reports are due today.
In news releases announcing their fundraising totals, both campaigns said they are well-positioned to win in November.
"The grassroots support Mark is seeing all across our state is thanks to his record as a steady and reliable voice for Arkansans, and it's clearer than ever that folks here have serious concerns about Congressman Cotton's reckless and irresponsible votes against Arkansas seniors, students, women and families," Pryor spokesman Erik Dorey wrote in a release about the campaign's fundraising numbers.
Cotton spokesman David Ray said Monday that the campaign had not finalized Cotton's expenses or cash on hand, but the numbers would be ready by today's deadline.
"We're very thankful to have the support of thousands and thousands of Arkansans who have donated to our campaign, not just financially, but also time and energy," Ray said. "This is now the fourth quarter in a row that we've out raised Sen. Pryor, and I think it's an indication that our message of wanting to send a conservative candidate to the Senate and trying to roll back some of the damage that President Obama has done over the last five years is catching on."
Political analysts said Monday that it's a competitive race.
"These numbers don't necessarily tell us anything about the outcome of the race," said Joseph Giammo, an associate professor of political science at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
"It's always better to have more money, but both candidates and the people who support those candidates are going to spend so much money in this race," he said. "Voters aren't going to notice that they saw one candidate's ads 80 times and the other candidate's ads 100 times. They just know they've heard the message a lot, and both candidates are going to have that message out a lot."
Viveca Novak, spokesman for the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, agreed that both candidates are doing well in fundraising.
The Washington-based group tracks campaign contributions.
"The continued strong fundraising by the challenger obviously indicates he has a lot of support, and from people with resources," she said. "But both have enough money to get their message out and both are certainly benefiting from outside groups."
"More often, it's the case that the candidate with more money wins, but it's not always the case," she added.
Pryor's campaign reported having about $4.1 million left in its coffers at the end of the quarter, a drop from $4.4 million at the end of March. Cotton's campaign did not release its amount of cash-on-hand.
It had about $2.7 million at the end of March.
Metro on 07/15/2014