Kyrsten Sinema touts cash edge in Arizona's Senate race but provides few details

U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema said she ended September with a still-commanding cash advantage over her political rivals, but the figure was virtually unchanged from her midyear total and didn’t include how much she collected in the past three months.

The slender information suggests the third quarter fundraising period will fall well short of U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego’s campaign haul for the third quarter in a row and that he has closed some of her campaign’s cash advantage over his.

In a written statement on Friday, Sinema, I-Ariz., reiterated her bipartisan political brand, but her campaign still had not filed its full report, which isn’t due until Oct. 15. Gallego, D-Ariz., released figures on what he raised and his overall cash position earlier this week but also has not yet filed the details of his campaign.

More funding: Rep. Ruben Gallego's Senate campaign raised $3 million this summer

The only financial nugget Sinema’s campaign released is that it ended the third quarter with $10.8 million in cash, “continuing her strong cash on hand advantage.”

That figure is generally the same as where she ended June: $10.8 million. In the second quarter, Sinema raised $1.7 million, which, after spending about $800,000, boosted her reserves from $9.9 million at the end of March.

By comparison, Gallego’s cash reserves moved from $2.7 million at the end of March to $3.8 million heading into July. This week, his campaign said it entered October with more than $5 million.

Gallego’s campaign has raised $3 million or more in each of its three quarters this year, making it one of the better-funded Senate operations running in 2024.

Campaign strategy: New memo details how Sen. Kyrsten Sinema expects to win reelection in 2024

Sinema historically has had one of the better fundraising campaigns in the Senate since she first began running in 2017. Her usually brisk operation has trailed off since she left the Democratic Party in December and Gallego formally announced his bid for the Democratic nomination weeks later.

“I promised Arizonans to be independent and work with anyone to deliver lasting results,” Sinema said Friday in a written statement. “Over the past four years, we've helped make a meaningful impact for Arizonans in every corner of our state — and we have the resources to continue our work helping Arizonans build better lives for themselves and their families.”

Sinema hasn’t officially said whether she is running for another six-year term, but her campaign’s spending levels throughout the year suggest she has been quietly doing so.

Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb is running for the Republican nomination and has not yet announced or filed his fundraising figures. In the first quarterly report, however, Lamb raised just $608,000, including $10,000 from Lamb and his wife near the quarterly deadline.

He ended that period with $335,000 in cash available.

Confrontation: Kari Lake, Rep. Ruben Gallego trade barbs on social media, at Phoenix airport

Republican Kari Lake recently filed paperwork for her long-expected Senate run but won’t be reporting any fundraising until after the current quarter ends in December.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Kyrsten Sinema touts cash edge for Senate race in Arizona