Election campaigns stock up: U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton tops GOP fundraising

FILE — U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton arrives for a Republican policy luncheon on Capitol Hill.
FILE — U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton arrives for a Republican policy luncheon on Capitol Hill.

WASHINGTON -- Members of the all-Republican Arkansas congressional delegation continue to stockpile money for their 2020 re-election bids.

Each campaign reported substantial fundraising on their third-quarter campaign finance reports, which were filed with the Federal Election Commission.

U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton of Dardanelle collected the most -- $1,119,694 between July 1 and Sept. 30. Cotton for Senate received $462,765 from individuals and $178,000 from political action committees. Another $467,108 was transferred to the campaign from other authorized committees.

Cotton reported total disbursements of $399,846, leaving him with $4,217,160 as of Sept. 30.

Brian Colas, Cotton's campaign manager, said it's unprecedented for an Arkansas Senate campaign to raise this much money in the third quarter preceding an election year.

"Thanks to the support from thousands of Arkansans, Senator Cotton's campaign set a fundraising record this quarter," he said in a written statement. "Our team is well-positioned to run an aggressive campaign on Senator Cotton's accomplishments and win another decisive victory."

Josh Mahony, a Fayetteville Democrat who hopes to defeat Cotton, raised $134,966 during the quarter and ended the month with cash on hand totaling $25,834, campaign manager Keith Rosendahl said.

More complete numbers would be available later Tuesday night, Rosendahl added.

"I will be blunt. We have a lot of work to do and a lot of long nights ahead of us but with over 7,500 donations from all of Arkansas' 75 counties and all 50 states -- our grassroots momentum and movement is as strong as ever," he said in a written statement. "We are confident that as the campaign progresses we will have the [money] and resources to mount an aggressive statewide campaign against Mr. Cotton."

U.S. Rep. French Hill of Little Rock raised more than any other House member from the state. The 2nd District congressman collected $236,691 between July 1 and Sept. 30. Of that, $67,727 came from individuals, $152,000 was donated by political action committees and $16,964 involved transfers from other authorized committees. Hill disbursed $68,659, leaving his campaign with $823,956 at the end of last month.

U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford of Jonesboro raised $143,681 during the period -- $79,431 from individuals and $64,250 from political action committees. After disbursements of $77,848, the 1st District congressman's campaign reported cash on hand of $434,184.

U.S. Rep. Steve Womack of Rogers reported contributions of $143,203 -- $67,903 from individuals and $75,300 from political action committees. Accounting for disbursements of $62,370, the 3rd District congressman's campaign was left with $1,272,590.

A report for Celeste Sarene Williams, the Bella Vista Democrat hoping to unseat Womack, wasn't posted early Tuesday evening. Under federal law, candidates are only required to file quarterly campaign finance reports once they've raised or spent more than $5,000.

[WEDNESDAY UPDATE: Democrat challenging Womack reports nearly $63,000 raised in third quarter » arkansasonline.com/news/2019/oct/16/democrat-challenging-womack-raises-nearly-63000-th/]

U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman of Hot Springs listed contributions of $101,010 -- $32,010 from individuals and $69,000 from political action committees. After disbursing $96,387, the 4th District congressman finished the quarter with $820,871.

William Hanson, a Hot Springs Democrat who plans to challenge Westerman, reported individual contributions of $2,510, loans of $14,500 and disbursements of $6,372. He finished the quarter with $10,638 cash on hand.

Another Democratic candidate, Raymond Dallas Redmond Jr. of Rison, hadn't yet posted his third-quarter report.

U.S. Sen. John Boozman of Rogers, who isn't up for re-election until 2022, reported contributions of $68,755. That included $49,250 from political action committees and $19,505 from individuals. His report listed disbursements of $29,080 and cash on hand of $559,691.

No Libertarian candidates filed. Tuesday was the deadline to submit the campaign finance reports.

Metro on 10/16/2019

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