Three of the Democrats vying to unseat Republican U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District are bringing in steady donations eight months before the primary, but their bank accounts hold a fraction of what Poliquin has to spend on the 2018 campaign.
Democrat Jared Golden of Lewiston topped all of the challengers from his party with $104,000 raised since his candidacy announcement on Aug. 24 and $96,000 in cash on hand as of the Sept. 30 filing deadline. That bests Democrats Craig Olson of Islesboro, who raised nearly $78,000 and had $71,000 in cash at the deadline, and Jonathan Fulford of Monroe,who has collected $68,000 and had $64,000 left.
Poliquin, a second-term incumbent, holds a major funding advantage with $1.7 million raised since the beginning of 2017 and more than $1.5 million in cash on hand. No Republicans have announced challenges to Poliquin, meaning he can save all his campaign cash for the general election.
Federal Elections Commission filings posted on Sunday reflect fundraising and spending totals up to Sept. 30, meaning any activity after that date won’t be available to the public until January 2018.
Democrat Lucas St. Clair of Portland entered the race Oct. 2 so there is no Federal Elections Commission filing for his campaign. David Farmer, a spokesman for St. Clair’s campaign, said Monday that St. Clair has collected $73,000 so far, none of which is St. Clair’s own money.
Two other Democratic candidates, two independents and a Libertarian who have declared candidacies in the 2nd District reported little or no fundraising or spending so far.
