DFL allies have nearly $1 million on hand
A coalition of individuals and organizations that support Minnesota Democrats raised more than $725,000 since the start of the year, according to state and federal campaign finance reports.
In recent election cycles, unions and wealthy donors, including Gov. Mark Dayton's ex-wife Alida Messinger and investor Vance Opperman, pool their dollars into two funds.
So far, the WIN Minnesota Political Action Fund, which mostly collects donations from individuals, has raised $175,750 and the 2014 Fund, which mostly collections donations from unions and other groups, has raised $325,005. That's on top of the $423,120 WIN Minnesota raised last year.
Together, the two funds have a total of $923,880 in the bank.
In the past, that money has largely been donated to the Alliance for a Better Minnesota, which serves as the communications hub for the coalition. ABM was instrumental in helping Dayton win in 201o and helping Democrats win both houses of the state Legislature in 2012.
This year, WIN Minnesota is raising cash to help Sen. Al Franken and 8th Congressional District Rep. Rick Nolan win re-election. Both are facing potentially competitive races. The group's federal PAC has raised $224,500 since the start of the year, and has $420,148 in the bank.
Meanwhile, the Alliance for a Better Minnesota has $78,750 in cash.
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