Franken leads the pack in second quarter fundraising

Al Franken outraised both DFLer Mike Ciresi and Republican Norm Coleman in second quarter fundraising. The campaign says it expects to report collections of $1.9 million between April and June.

Coleman raised about $1.6 million and Ciresi collected $750,000 during the same period. Ciresi didn't begin raising money until May. Coleman has more cash on hand than Franken, $3.8 million compared to $2 million.

Franken's campaign put out the numbers Monday ahead of the official July 15 reporting date. In a statement Franken campaign spokesman Andy Barr said, "We made a conscious decision early on to rely on grassroots support to fund our campaign. Today, we've shown that when people come together, they can be even more powerful than the special interests and corporate PACs backing Norm Coleman. And we've shown that Al is a candidate who can bring people together around the progressive values we share."

Barr said the average contribution to the campaign in the second quarter was just over $65.

Barr's statement goes on to say the campaign received only $5,500 from PACs in the second quarter, including $5,000 from Sen. Dick Durbin's (D-Ill.) Prairie PAC and $500 from GMP Political Education League, the PAC of the Glass, Molders, Pottery, Plastics, & Allied Workers International Union. In the first quarter, Al received just $15,000 from PACs (including $5,000 from his own Midwest Values PAC), while Sen. Coleman received nearly a third of his total ($450,000) from PACs.

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