Scott Brown raises $3.4 million in 1st quarter
Sen. Scott Brown's Massachusetts re-election campaign raked in $3.4 million in the first quarter of 2012, it announced Friday, in yet another sign that the Massachusetts Senate race is sure to be one of the most costly and closely-watched of the 2012 election cycle.
In a press release, the campaign also announced that it has about $15 million in cash on hand, and that approximately 71 percent of the total number of donations came from within Massachusetts.
"The people of Massachusetts appreciate the independent, pro-jobs perspective that Senator Brown brings to each issue and they have rewarded him with yet another strong quarter of fundraising," said Brown campaign finance director John Cook. "We will once again be outraised by the Hollywood elites and out-of-state liberals that are backing our opponent, but we will have resources we need to run our race."
Brown, who is facing a tough re-election battle against liberal challenger Elizabeth Warren, also unveiled a new fundraising initiative on Friday: A contest to "Win a Day with Scott Brown."
The winner of the contest will get the chance to "spend a day on the campaign trail with Senator Scott Brown."
"You'll ride with Scott in his truck, grab lunch at Kelly's Roast Beef, go on the campaign trail, squeeze in a round of bowling and finish out the day with a beer at J.J. Foley's," according to a release announcing the contest.
Donations are not required to enter, but the campaign is encouraging contributions starting at $10.
Warren's campaign has not yet released its full 1st quarter haul, but announced Wednesday it had brought in at least $2.5 million.
"Even before the final numbers are complete, we know that Massachusetts families have contributed $2.5 million to our campaign since January 1st," said Warren's campaign manager Mindy Myers, in an email to supporters.
"Even our early fundraising numbers prove we're running a true grassroots campaign on a size and scale we should be tremendously proud of," Myers wrote. "We have tens of thousands of contributors from every town in Massachusetts but one, and 70 percent of our Massachusetts contributions have been $50 or less."
