Kari Lake vs. Ruben Gallego: Whose campaign raised more money in Arizona's Senate race?

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Ruben Gallego outraised Republican challenger Kari Lake in their first head-to-head quarter in what figures to be one of the nation’s most closely watched campaigns in the country.

Both campaigns released top-line numbers Monday while U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., whose seat they are seeking, has yet to file her figures. Republican Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb has not yet filed, either.

Gallego collected $3.3 million, about what his campaign has averaged each quarter in the first three reporting periods. He finished with $6.5 million in cash. Once again, Gallego said his campaign relied on small-dollar donors, with 99% of donations being $200 or less.

Lake took in $2.1 million in her first quarter in the race, a figure that ranks second nationally for Republican Senate challengers. She did not include her cash total. Lake also included approving statements from two Republican senators, a reminder that Gallego has yet to receive such open support from his party in a narrowly divided Senate that still depends on Sinema to approve legislation.

Sinema had $10.8 million in cash available at the end of September. Gallego outraised her in the first three quarters of the year.

The race is seen as up for grabs and Sinema potentially could make it a rare, three-way contest.

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Beginning with Sinema’s 2018 election, Democrats have won three straight Senate races in Arizona. Before that, Republicans won nine straight races beginning in 1992. Arizona has a vast swath of voters who are registered as independents, a demographic that Sinema hopes to own if she runs.

Sinema has yet to formally announce whether she will seek a second six-year term, though her campaign spending throughout last year suggests she has been running all along.

Lake entered the race in October after months of anticipation.

Lake’s campaign began with a videotaped endorsement from former President Donald Trump, and she has made appearances across the country at events for his campaign and other conservative causes.

While she is undeniably one of the more prominent Trump-aligned candidates in the country, her fundraising ability began as an open question. Monday’s figures are the first view of how she manages one of the key tasks of a race expected to cost tens of millions just to compete.

“Kari Lake is out working everyone, posting a very strong fundraising haul for her first quarter in the race,” her campaign said Monday in a written statement. “Arizona is the best pick up opportunity for Senate Republicans, and Kari is well positioned to win in November.”

The campaign noted that Lake’s total ranks second among Republican Senate challengers running this cycle.

The GOP nominee in the 2022 Senate race, Blake Masters, was unable to bring in significant money on his own, and allies of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., largely withheld money that could have aided his run against Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee praised Lake’s fundraising efforts in a statement that underscores that the party intends to support her if she is the nominee, as is widely expected.

“Kari Lake has strong grassroots support that is clearly translating to fundraising success,” said Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., who chairs the NRSC.

Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., chair of the Senate Republican Conference, also issued a statement about her fundraising.

“Kari Lake is doing everything a candidate for the U.S. Senate needs to do to win,” he said. “She is reaching out to voters across Arizona, putting forward focused policy priorities, clearly communicating to voters, and now we know building strong financial support for her race. Kari Lake just put up a fundraising quarter that shows she has the support and momentum to win this race.”

Lamb entered the race in April and had raised about $1.1 million through September. His campaign has not yet released its fundraising for the last three months of 2023.

Gallego’s campaign pointedly noted that it raised $3.7 million in his first three months in the race and more than $3 million in each quarter afterward, “a bar that Kari Lake has already failed to meet.”

“Over the past year, our campaign has built the infrastructure to take on whatever comes our way in 2024 thanks to the support of hundreds of thousands of small-dollar donors who in what they could to elect Ruben Gallego,” said Nichole Johnson, his campaign manager. “Arizonans know it is time to elect a senator who will actually fight for them — which is why our campaign continues to dominate the competition as we prepare to win this senate race.”

Sinema’s campaign fundraising has fallen off and changed significantly since she left the Democratic Party in December 2022. She relies heavily on a handful of donors who can provide the maximum allowed and they are concentrated in certain industries, such as financial services, which Sinema oversees in her committee work.

Even so, she maintained an overall cash advantage over her challengers through September.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Did Kari Lake raise more campaign cash that Ruben Gallego?