Westrom brings in $84K to challenge Peterson in 7th District House race
WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson still hasn't said whether he's running for office again, but the money race in the 7th District he represents is heating up.
Torrey Westrom, the Republican state senator who wants to unseat the long-serving Peterson, reported Wednesday that his campaign raised $84,000 within a month of announcing his bid.
Earlier this week, Peterson's campaign filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission that showed $164,000 in fundraising in the last three months of 2013 and a war chest of $357,000.
Westrom's campaign did not reveal how much cash it currently has on hand. In a jab at Peterson, who raises much of his campaign funds from agricultural-related political action committees, Westrom's campaign noted that it raised 97 percent of its funds from within Minnesota.
The GOP is targeting the 7th District because it is one of just nine congressional districts that sent a Democrat to the U.S. House in 2012 while also voting for Republican Mitt Romney for president. Peterson was first elected in 1990 and has handily won re-election ever since.
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