Kennedy tops Klobuchar in Senate money race

10/07/2005

Greg Gordon,
Star Tribune Washington Bureau Correspondent
October 7, 2005

WASHINGTON, D.C.--Republican Rep. Mark Kennedy raised $800,000 in the third quarter of the year and took a slight edge in the torrid early fundraising scramble among Minnesota’s four candidates for the U.S. Senate in 2006, his campaign said Thursday.

In the three-way battle for the Democratic nomination, Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar amassed more than $500,000 during the quarter that ended Sept. 30, her campaign said. The DFL campaign of child-safety crusader Patty Wetterling, who plans to formally announce her candidacy on Sunday, has yet to release its latest fundraising estimate.

Kennedy benefited from Vice President Dick Cheney’s appearance at a July fundraising luncheon. He has raised $2.1 million for the year and built a $1.5 million bankroll, his campaign said.

Klobuchar’s campaign said she has raised $1.75 million for the year and built a cash balance of $1.4 million. Wetterling raised nearly $750,000 through June and entered the third quarter with more than $350,000 in cash. Dr. Ford Bell, a veterinarian who is the third Democratic candidate, collected about $130,000 in the third quarter and ended with $110,000 in cash, his spokesman said.

While early in the campaign, the finance reports took on added importance with the recent decision of real estate developer Kelly Doran to drop his DFL Senate candidacy and run for governor. Doran had indicated he might personally invest millions of dollars of his own money into his Senate campaign, tripping a “millionaire’s provision” that can escalate spending in a race. It allows rival candidates to level the playing field by accepting individual donations of two, three or more times the usual legal limits. With Doran out, the normal individual donation limits are likely to apply.

Fundraisers were also active in Minnesota’s most competitive House races.

In the Second District, Republican Rep. John Kline raised more than $230,000, fattening his cash balance to $360,000, his campaign said. Democratic challenger Coleen Rowley, a former Minneapolis FBI agent, garnered about $80,000 in her first attempt at political fundraising. She closed the quarter with $61,000 in cash, a spokesman said.

Rowley said her initial appeals were blunted by Hurricane Katrina, which crimped noncharitable fundraising, and by the bankruptcy of Northwest Airlines, many of whose employees live in the south suburban district. She said she soon will begin seeking donations from across the country.

In the four-way contest for the Republican nomination for Kennedy’s Sixth District seat, state Rep. Phil Krinkie of Lino Lakes raised about $90,000, lifting his cash balance to $225,000; state Sen. Michele Bachmann of Stillwater raised $84,500, ending with $165,000 in cash; state Rep. Jim Knoblach of St. Cloud collected about $80,000, but had yet to calculate a cash balance, and Cold Spring Granite Co. executive Jay Esmay raised about $16,000 and had $34,000 in cash, their aides said.

The only declared Democratic candidate, former state transportation commissioner Elwyn Tinklenberg, said his quarterly fundraising figures are not yet available. He raised $108,000 through June 30.