Fundraising for US Rep. Ruben Gallego skyrockets with Kyrsten Sinema out of Senate race

U.S. Senate candidate Ruben Gallego’s campaign said it raised $7.5 million in the first three months of the year, more than doubling his previous quarterly totals.

Gallego, D-Ariz., entered April with $9.6 million in cash, a $3 million boost that may keep his campaign in the lead in that category even as it apparently once again spent a significant portion of what it raised.

Gallego is running for the seat being vacated by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz. Republicans Kari Lake and Mark Lamb are contending for the GOP nomination in a race that could help decide control of the chamber.

None of the campaigns, including Sinema’s, has formally filed its quarterly numbers, which are due later this month.

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema isn't running. What happens to the millions donors gave her campaign?

But Gallego’s fundraising already appears relatively strong.

In the same period of her successful 2018 campaign Sinema, then running as a Democrat, raised $2.5 million.

In early 2020, Democrat Mark Kelly raised $11 million on his way to winning a Senate seat. Two years later, Kelly raised $11.4 million for his reelection.

Gallego’s campaign interpreted his financial support with a popular agenda.

“Arizonans are ready to elect a senator who will defend abortion rights, cut costs for families, and take care of our veterans — and that’s exactly what Ruben will do,” said Nichole Johnson, Gallego’s campaign manager, in a statement.

Once again, Gallego’s campaign said its support came from those who contributed less than $200. The average contribution was less than $50, and the campaign had 180,000 donors.

More than half the donors were first-time contributors, according to the campaign, and nearly all his donors have given less than the maximum, meaning they can give more to his campaign if they want.

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The past month in particular was notable for Arizona’s Senate race.

Sinema announced on March 5 she would not seek a second term.

Lake cashed in with a Washington, D.C., fundraiser that night that raised $330,000. Gallego announced he raised $1 million in the 24 hours after she quit the race.

He added the long-expected support of Kelly, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee once Sinema quit.

Lake has picked up the formal endorsement of about half the Republicans already in the Senate, showing early official support for her campaign even as she faces a primary challenge from Lamb, the Pinal County sheriff.

But Lake ended the month with a potential thud when she didn’t challenge a defamation lawsuit brought Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, a fellow Republican. That puts that case, which involves fallout from her false claims of fraud by him during the 2022 election, on track to assess what, if any, damages Lake owes Richer.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: How much Rep. Ruben Gallego raised when Sen. Kyrsten Sinema quit race