10th District Congressman Mark Kirk boasts of his title as "Top GOP Fundraiser in the Nation" on his campaign website. Considering his apparent fundraising prowess, it's impressive to see that Democratic challenger Dan Seals is keeping pace.
Statements released this week indicate that the Kirk campaign raised $715,000 in the first quarter of the year while Seals raised 613,000. Seals' fundraising ability at this early juncture shows that he may have a broader base of support this time around.
In 2006, Kirk narrowly beat Seals in a hotly contested race. During that election cycle, Kirk raised $3.1 million and Seals brought in $1.9 million.
As the Tribune reported this morning, the first quarter figures vindicate the DCCC, which -- unlike in 2006 -- decided to designate the 10th District as a "Red-To-Blue" race in mid-March:
The campaign totals also justify the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's decision to place Seals on its Red to Blue list of congressional races it believes are winnable.
But Seals will need to start out-fundraising Kirk in order to marshall the same resources as Election Day approaches. The Tribune also reported that Kirk has collected a total of over $2.8 million for the 2008 election, while Seals raised $1.4 million.
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