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U.S. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester is already building a runway for the Senate with a war chest of more than $1.8 million heading into next year's election. | DBT PHOTO BY JACOB OWENS[/caption]
WILMINGTON – In just over a week of fundraising in June, Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester raised more than $778,000 in
her campaign for the U.S. Senate, according to
federal campaign records.
Combined with the more than $1 million that she moved from her established congressional campaign fund, the congresswoman’s strong out of the gate fundraising and endorsement by retiring U.S. Sen. Tom Carper will make her campaign difficult to surmount.
No competitor has yet to file in the race, as either a Democrat or Republican.
Blunt Rochester raised $778,475.89 in the second quarter ending June 30, but only announced and legally filed her campaign on June 21. In those nine days, she received $573,474.80 from nearly 200 individuals, most of whom were Delawareans, according to her quarterly fundraising report filed July 14.
Her largest single-source contributions were $10,000 each from five different political action committees: All For Our Country Leadership PAC, First State PAC, Great Lakes PAC, No Vote Left Behind PAC, and Purpose PAC.
The incumbent congresswoman currently ranks 42nd in the nation for fundraising among Senate candidates, according to federal data.
In comparison to fellow Democrat Sen. Chris Coons’ winning 2020 campaign, he raised more than $7.2 million in the five years that covered the election cycle. It dwarfed the roughly $475,000 raised by Republican Lauren Witzke in the race.
Blunt Rochester’s office did not respond to a request for comment on the fundraising haul, but she is still setting up her campaign team ahead of next year’s election.
Races for the U.S. Senate, which come with six-year terms versus two years for the House of Representatives, always draw larger sums of fundraising. So far, the race to replace Blunt Rochester in the House has drawn significant interest though, as State Sen. Sarah McBride has
already raised more than $400,000 in her campaign.
