Candidates vying for the open seat in Congressional District 1 seat have again raised nearly $1 million in the last three months.
Federal Election Commission records show the majority of the cash raised in this period — $709,966 — was among the seven Republican candidates. But crisscrossing the massive district, which runs from northern and eastern Arizona to northern Pima County, to get the message out has been costly, with those candidates spending $745,761 during the same period.
One candidate, former state legislator Carlyle Begay, dropped out in late June.
The remaining candidates are vying to fill the seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, who is running for the U.S. Senate. The primary election is Aug. 30.
Retired Air Force pilot Wendy Rogers raised the most of the seven GOP candidates between the beginning of April and the end of June, taking in a total of $209,066. This is her third time running for Congress.
She also has the largest amount left, with $277,384 in her campaign coffers at the end of June.
Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu came in second in terms of fundraising on the Republican side. He raised $157,895, according to the FEC. He has slightly more than $250,000 in his campaign war chest.
Former Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett raised $55,639 in contributions, while Begay brought in $51,355 before dropping out.
Arizona House Speaker David Gowan raised $37,023 during the last reporting period, but had the second-largest campaign war chest at the end of June with $267,342 .
Rancher Gary Kiehne raised $25,756 in the last three months, but has put in $17,216 of his own money into his campaign.
Two years ago, Kiehne spent $430,000 of his own money in the 2014 Republican primary, which he lost to Andy Tobin.
Republican Shawn Redd’s FEC report was not available Monday afternoon.
On the Democratic side, former state lawmaker Tom O’Halleran raised $275,690
in donations, and $492,268 remains in his coffers.
Businessman James Maloney, also a Democrat, raised $6,455 during the same time frame.
