Barr campaign tops $1M, still trails Chandler

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Republican Andy Barr has raised more than $1 million for his general election bid, but he still trails the Democratic congressman he's trying to unseat in Kentucky's 6th District.

U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler has topped $1.5 million for his re-election. The Barr and Chandler campaigns reported Tuesday that each had raised nearly $400,000 between April and June.

They're engaged in what is expected to be Kentucky's most competitive general election congressional race. Barr, a Lexington attorney, sought a rematch with Chandler after losing a squeaker to him two years ago.

Since then, the state legislature had redrawn the boundaries around the congressional district, strengthening Chandler at least slightly by removing some traditionally Republican communities and replacing them with Democratic strongholds.

The political makeup of the district is now 289,420 Democrats to 162,652 Republicans. But even before redistricting, Democrats outnumbered Republicans 284,524 to 170,678.

Chandler, a former attorney general who has served central Kentucky in Congress since 2004, reported that he still had $1.3 million on hand, compared with Barr's $750,000.

Chandler campaign manager Eric Nagy said the financial advantage is encouraging.

"Congressman Chandler is well positioned for a victory on Nov. 6," Nagy said in a statement.

Barr campaign manager Pat Melton said he's heartened by the fundraising numbers.

"Having exceeded the $1 million mark and having more than doubled our cash-on-hand at this time in 2010, it is clear that the people of the 6th District have had more than enough of the Obama-Chandler economy," Melton said.

All congressional candidates have to report their fundraising to the Federal Election Commission by the beginning of next week.

Melton said Barr has already added $180,000 to his campaign coffers with a fundraiser Saturday that was headlined by U.S. House Speaker John Boehner.