U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., hauled in $1 million more than former Gov. Tommy Thompson for her U.S. Senate bid during the most recent campaign finance reporting period, allowing the Democratic nominee to maintain her fundraising advantage over her Republican opponent.
According to campaign announcements Monday, Baldwin raised $4.6 million from the beginning of July through the end of September, while Thompson collected $3.6 million in the same three-month period, $2.2 million of which came after the Aug. 14 primary.
Baldwin’s campaign has now raised about $11.7 million for the Senate race compared to the approximate $6.1 million total Thompson has brought in since January 2011.
The Baldwin campaign reported having $3.5 million on hand, virtually the same amount it had left at the end of the last reporting period. Thompson’s campaign said it had just under $2 million on hand at the end of September, an improvement from the $346,000 it had on hand the night of the primary.
Thompson has struggled to keep up with the fundraising pace of his opponents throughout the course of the Senate campaign. He lagged well behind Madison businessman Eric Hovde and former U.S. Rep. Mark Neumann during the GOP primary and though he has made up ground, still trails Baldwin, who faced an uncontested primary.
Mike McCabe, the director of the watchdog group Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, said he expects Baldwin to continue to outspend Thompson in the final three weeks of the campaign, but that outside groups will have a greater influence on the outcome of the election.
Third-party groups have poured nearly $19 million into Wisconsin’s U.S. Senate race, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, money that has been spent about evenly on behalf of Baldwin and Thompson.
“In the end, you might see a narrow edge to Baldwin financially, but it won’t be terribly lopsided,” McCabe said. “There’s going to be heavy advertising on both sides from outside interest groups.”
The latest survey of the Senate race from the conservative polling firm Rasmussen Reports shows Baldwin leading Thompson 51 percent to 47 percent among likely voters.
