Candidates in Georgia vying for two U.S. Senate seats this fall have released new quarterly campaign fundraising figures that show a financial boost for some Democratic hopefuls as well as huge money pots amassed by both Republican incumbents.
Sen. David Perdue and the Rev. Raphael Warnock led the large pack of candidates in fundraising for the first quarter of 2020. Perdue hauled in roughly $1.6 million, while Warnock took in about $1.5 million in campaign contributions.
The fundraising by Warnock, a Democrat, topped efforts by Republican competitors U.S. Rep. Doug Collins of Gainesville and incumbent U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler – though both managed to add more to their campaign chests via personal loans or transfers from other campaigns.
Loeffler is looking to fend off nearly two dozen challengers in the free-for-all election for her seat, which she was appointed to after former U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson retired at the end of last year.
While Loeffler’s more than $1.1 million in contributions lagged behind Warnock, the billionaire businesswoman from Atlanta also sent her campaign a personal loan of $5 million. Including that loan, Loeffler has loaned her campaign $10 million so far.
Collins, meanwhile, also added nearly $1.1 million in contributions to his haul, including $1.6 million from other campaign transfers. That rounds out to about $2.2 million in cash overall to spend for his campaign.
Loeffler’s Republican counterpart, U.S. Sen. David Perdue, outpaced Democratic rivals in fundraising quarter – but not by much in the case of filmmaker John Ossoff.
Ossoff raised slightly more than $1 million from campaign donors, a higher tally than his Democratic primary opponents Teresa Tomlinson and Sarah Riggs Amico.
Tomlinson, the former Columbus mayor, raised nearly $614,000 this quarter, while businesswoman Sarah Riggs Amico raised almost $162,000.
Perdue and Loeffler both have far more cash in the bank for their campaigns than opponents as they head toward the November general election. Perdue has roughly $9 million in cash-on-hand, while Loeffler has about $6.1 million.
Warnock, the pastor of Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, has nearly $1.2 million in cash-on-hand, topping Democratic candidates Ed Tarver and Matt Lieberman, who are also competing for Loeffler’s seat.
Ossoff has about $1.8 million on hand for his campaign. That amount leads Tomlinson, with about $435,000, and Riggs Amico, with roughly $280,000.
This story has been updated to correct campaign contribution figures for Raphael Warnock, Kelly Loeffler and Doug Collins.