Kari Lake, Ruben Gallego spent way more than they raised in early July for US Senate race
U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake burned through far more money than she raised in the first 10 days of July amid continued sluggish fundraising.
Lake raised $325,000 in that span, which came in the midst of early voting for the July 30 primary. She spent $1.1 million in the same period.
U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., who is unchallenged for his party’s nomination, didn't expand his financial advantage over Lake. His campaign raised $1.1 million and poured $2.1 million into the race.
That brought down his campaign’s cash total by more than $1 million, but he still had a sizable lead over Lake in that department.
Gallego had $8.2 million and Lake had $2.1 million. But Lake also added another $44,000 to her campaign debt, which totaled $857,000.
The campaign for Lake’s main Republican challenger, Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, essentially existed hand-to-mouth at the beginning of the month, taking in $48,000 and spending about the same.
His $117,000 campaign debt went unchanged heading into the final weeks of early voting.
The updated financial snapshots came as groups apart from the campaign are also spending in the race to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz.
Most of the state’s notable congressional races had candidates with clear cash leads over their competition.
Which House candidates have the most campaign cash?
Perhaps the most closely watched race is the 8th Congressional District Republican primary. Five prominent candidates are vying to succeed retiring U.S. Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz., in a safely red seat that covers the northwest Valley.
Blake Masters had by far the most cash left as of July 10, with $976,000. He has provided $3.5 million of the $4 million his campaign has raised.
Former U.S. Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., who quit in 2017 facing an ethics investigation for allegations of sexual misconduct, had $268,000 in cash. The $600,000 he has loaned his campaign represents almost all of the money his team has.
Abe Hamadeh had $214,000 in cash. Arizona state House Speaker Ben Toma, R-Peoria, had $170,000. Arizona state Sen. Anthony Kern, R-Glendale, had $16,000.
Four Democrats in the competitive 1st Congressional District House race entered the final stage of that primary relatively close financially. The candidates are vying for the right to challenge seven-term incumbent U.S. Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz.
As of July 10, Andrei Cherny had the most cash, $691,000. He also raised the most money from donors so far this month as well, more than $200,000.
Conor O’Callaghan, who has underwritten about half his campaign to this point, had $548,000. Andrew Horne had almost as much, though that owed to the $580,000 he loaned his campaign.
Marlene Galán-Woods had $467,000 in cash.
Amish Shah still had $217,000 in cash.
That district spans the northeast Valley to north-central Phoenix.
In the 3rd Congressional District race Democratic primary, Raquel Terán had a significant cash edge over Yassamin Ansari in the race to replace Gallego in a safely Democratic seat that covers south Phoenix and the lower half of the West Valley.
Terán had $416,000 in cash to Ansari’s $259,000. Phoenix City Councilmember Laura Pastor, who has withdrawn from the race, had $9,700.
One Republican had a significant cash advantage in the Tempe-based 4th Congressional District primary in the race to challenge three-term incumbent U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz.
Zuhdi Jasser had $197,000. Kelly Cooper had $81,000.
The 6th Congressional District race hasn’t formally started, but incumbent U.S. Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., and Democrat Kirsten Engel continued to stockpile money for a rematch of their 2022 race.
Engel continued to add to her fundraising advantage. She outraised Ciscomani 3-to-1 in the beginning of July. Engel had $3.2 million in cash compared with Ciscomani’s $2.7 million.
That district includes part of Tucson and southeastern Arizona.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Senate race: Kari Lake, Ruben Gallego spend big
