McFadden brings in $1.1 million for Franken challenge

WASHINGTON - Mike McFadden, the endorsed Republican candidate for U.S. Senate against incumbent Democrat Al Franken, raised $1.1 million in the second quarter of this year, his best fundraising quarter yet and nearly double his previous quarter's total.

The campaign says it has more than $2 million on hand as the summer campaign season ramps up.

“After having our most successful fundraising quarter yet, it’s safe to say that Mike McFadden is building the momentum to win this election,” said campaign manager Carl Kuhl in a statement.

Still, reading between the lines, it's clear McFadden's campaign continues to be at a significant financial disadvantage to Franken's.

When McFadden last reported his fundraising numbers in April, his campaign had $1.8 million in cash. That suggests that McFadden has spent almost all that he raised and has not had a chance to build much more in the way of cash reserves for the fall when campaigns typically spend millions on TV ads.

Franken's campaign has not yet reported its numbers but reported raising $2.7 million in the first quarter of 2014 and has averaged more than $2 million a quarter before then. As of March 31, Franken had $5.9 million on hand.

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