Tim Kaine posted a second-straight strong quarter in his bid for Virginia’s open Senate seat.

The former governor announced raising $1.3 million from July to September, topping former Sen. George Allen (R) by about $400,000. Kaine, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, now has more than $2.5 million in cash on hand, which is about $700,000 more than Allen, also a former governor.

Allen earlier announced he had raised $900,000 in the third quarter and had $1.8 million in the bank at the end of September.

Both candidates will likely raise plenty of money for what’s expected to be among the most competitive Senate races in the country. Three-straight polls by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute have showed the race to be a statistical dead heat.

The Kaine campaign touted that his fundraising has come from more than 8,500 unique donors since joining the race in April. Allen, who got in the race in January, had received more than 5,000 unique donations in his first two quarters in the race.

“We are thrilled that so many people have joined our campaign and look forward to building on that grassroots momentum to elect great leaders in 2011 and send Tim Kaine to the U.S. Senate in 2012,” Kaine spokeswoman Brandi Hoffine said in a statement.