(WOMENSENEWS)— Congressional candidates’ fundraising totals for the first quarter find women in high-profile Senate races with fairly full coffers, according to Roll Call.
In Massachusetts, which is expected to be the most expensive congressional race this year, Elizabeth Warren (D) — who built a consumer financial protection bureau in Washington — raised nearly $7 million. Her opponent, incumbent Sen. Scott Brown, raised about $3.4 million, but he has more cash on hand — $15 million — compared to Warren’s $11 million.
Missouri’s Sen. Claire McCaskill, a Democrat viewed as vulnerable in the swing state, raised about $2.3 million. One of her opponents, John Brunner (R) raised $1,375,000. Another Republican, Todd Akin, only pulled in about $400,000, but his campaign already has almost $1.5 million. A Republican woman in the race, Sarah Steelman, only managed to pull in $85,000. In February she polled in a dead heat with all three of them, reported the Huffington Post March 9; yet according to Public Policy Polling, her campaign has been buoyed by the weaknesses of her challengers.
In Michigan, incumbent Sen. Debbie Stabenow raised over $1.5 million while Pete Hoekstra, her Republican challenger, raised $700,000. Hoekstra has drawn widespread criticism for what many have called a racist advertisement.
In Hawaii, Mazie Hirono (D) raised about $1 million while her opponent Linda Lingle (R) raised about $1.35 million.
In Wisconsin, Tammy Baldwin (D), who could become the first openly gay U.S. senator, raised about $2 million; opponent Eric Hovde (R) is close behind, with about $1.9 million. Baldwin has about $2.8 million on hand, however, significantly more than Hovde’s $1.6 million.
In Nevada, Shelley Berkley (D) took in about $1.4 million; opponent Dean Heller (R) raised about $1 million.
In New Mexico, Heather Wilson (R) raised $759,000; lead Democrat in the race, Martin Heinrich, raised almost half a million dollars, though the two have about the same amount of cash on hand overall.
In North Dakota, Heidi Heitkamp (D) raised $712,000, while Republican Rick Berg raised $943,000. His campaign has twice as much cash on hand.
Samantha Kimmey is a writer in Brooklyn, NY.
