Mississippi's six-term incumbent Sen. Thad Cochran, who came up short in the
June 3 GOP primary and is
lagging in polls, is way ahead of the money race with tea party-backed challenger state Sen. Chris McDaniel, raking in $370,000 over the last eight days.
Citing 48-hour reports filed to the Federal Election Commission by Friday morning,
Roll Call reported the cash infusion came from local supporters, lobbyists and fellow senators, including Richard Shelby of Alabama, Charles Grassley of Iowa, John Cornyn of Texas and Jerry Moran of Kansas, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
More is expected; the National Republican Senatorial Committee hosted a fundraiser for Cochran Tuesday that raised $820,000, some of which was probably included in the 48-hour reports, Roll Call said.
McDaniel has raised more than $50,000 since June 4, the FEC reports show.
Though Cochran lost the primary by a whisper-thin margin to McNeil, he also was far ahead of McDaniel heading into a runoff forced when neither candidate captured 50 percent of the vote, with $408,000 on hand June 4, Roll Call reported.
McDaniel had just $60,000 remaining for the June 24 runoff, Roll Call reported.
Both candidates have put out new ads. Cochran's tout his ability to bring money and jobs to the state; McDaniel's TV and radio ads – launched by the political action arm of the Club for Growth – blast Cochran's record and urge conservatives to vote.
Super PAC Mississippi Conservatives reported it had sent out direct mail opposing McDaniel, Roll Call reported; before the primary, the super PAC reported getting $250,000 contributions from both former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Napster founder Sean Parker to aid Cochran's campaign.
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