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Pre-Primary Reports Filed for Charlie Rangel, Mike Coffman and Many More

Pre Primary Reports Filed for Charlie Rangel, Mike Coffman and Many More
Rangel faces a competitive June 24 primary. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Fundraising reports filed Thursday by candidates running in the June 24 primaries revealed eleventh hour insight into the financial viability of embattled incumbents and their challengers.

The reports, covering campaign finances from April 1 to June 4, show whether campaigns have money, how quickly they are spending it and how much cash they had for the final stretch.

After a tumultuous week, in which House Majority Leader Eric Cantor lost his primary, here is a look at the financial side of the races to watch in less than two weeks:

Incumbents in Primary Trouble

New York’s 13 District

Democratic Rep. Charles B. Rangel is in the political fight of his life. Again.

Headed into the final weeks of his primary, he raised more money and outspent his two Democratic rivals, state Sen. Adriano Espaillat and Pastor Michael Walrond. But Rangel still trailed Espaillat by $10,000 in cash on hand.

To help, Rangel’s Democratic colleagues — including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California and House Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, along with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and others in the Empire State delegation — have sent email solicitations on his behalf in recent months. Reps. Carolyn B. Maloney and Nita M. Lowey of New York and Terri A. Sewell of Alabama also hosted an Upper East Side fundraiser for him.

The race is rated Safe Democratic by the Rothenberg Political Report/Roll Call.

  • Rangel: raised $323,000; spent $396,000; $151,000 in cash on hand.
  • Espaillat: raised $185,000; spent $246,000; $161,000 in cash on hand.
  • Walrond: raised $34,000; spent $108,000; $21,000 in cash on hand.

Colorado’s 5th District

Republican Rep. Doug Lamborn was outraised by his primary opponent, but the intraparty challenge is still comparatively less dangerous than the incumbent’s 2012 primary. The race is rated Safe Republican by the Rothenberg Political Report/Roll Call.

  • Retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Bentley Rayburn: raised $84,000; spent $52,000; $33,000 in cash on hand.
  • Lamborn: raised $74,000; spent $105,000; $200,000 in cash on hand.

New York’s 22nd District

Tea party activists — and some Democrats — spent the last month or so talking up state Assemblywoman Claudia Tenney, a primary challenger to Republican Rep. Richard Hanna. Tenney had moderate financial success in the reporting period and had little left to spend, while Hanna was sitting on a half-million-dollar war chest. The race is rated Safe Republican by the Rothenberg Political Report/Roll Call.

  • Hanna: raised $228,000; spent $297,000; $515,000 in cash on hand
  • Tenney: raised $129,000; spent $112,000; $17,000 in cash on hand

Primaries in Competitive General Elections

New York’s 21st District

The GOP brawl between attorney Matt Doheny and former Bush White House staffer Elise Stefanik for retiring Rep. Bill Owens’ upstate New York seat could go down to the wire. Stefanik raised more than Doheny, but he outspent her in the pre-primary period. Stefanik had a narrow cash-on-hand advantage.

At the same time, Democratic presumptive nominee, documentary filmmaker Aaron Woolf, outraised them both and had $377,000 in the bank. The race is rated a Tossup by the Rothenberg Political Report/Roll Call.

  • Doheney: raised $88,000; spent $432,000; $172,000 in cash on hand
  • Stefanik: raised $135,000; spent $301,000; $184,000 in cash on hand
  • Woolf: raised $165,000; spent $191,000; has $377,000 in cash on hand

New York’s 1st District

State Sen. Lee Zeldin struggled to keep up in spending with his self-funding GOP rival, attorney George Demos. National Republicans are telegraphing that they would prefer Zeldin as the nominee, but few are certain how this primary battle will turn out. Democratic six-term Rep. Timothy H. Bishop kept his spending to a minimum, holding his $800,000 for the general election. The race is rated Tilts Democratic by the Rothenberg Political Report/Roll Call.

  • Zeldin: raised $131,000; spent $393,000; $150,000 in cash on hand.
  • Demos: raised $59,000; spent $945,000; $384,000 in cash on hand.
  • Bishop: raised $175,000; spent $89,000; $809,000 in cash on hand.

Banner General-Election Matchups

A handful of these races have featured all-but-official party nominees for more than a year. The primaries will be inconsequential, but the FEC reports do offer a glimpse into the financial health of these campaigns. Earlier Friday morning, CQ Roll Call previewed Republican Rep. Michael G. Grimm’s lackluster report for New York’s 11th District.

Colorado’s 6th District

The Denver media market is likely to be expensive in the fall, but Republican Rep. Mike Coffman and Democratic former Colorado state House Speaker Andrew Romanoff are on track to be the strongest fundraising pairing of incumbent versus challenger in the country. Romanoff is the rare challenger to raise more than an incumbent, but Coffman is no slouch. The race is rated a Tossup by the Rothenberg Political Report/Roll Call.

  • Coffman: raised $337,000; spent $215,000; $2 million in cash on hand
  • Romanoff: raised $466,000; spent $213,000; has $2.35 million in cash on hand

New York’s 18th District

In the rematch between Democratic Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney and former Republican Rep. Nan Hayworth, Maloney has a 3-to-1 cash-on-hand advantage. Of course, Hayworth has the personal resources to make a financial dump later in the cycle if needed. The race is rated Safe Democratic by the Rothenberg Political Report/Roll Call.

  • Maloney: raised $244,000; spent $202,000; $1.5 million in cash on hand
  • Hayworth: raised $102,000; spent $254,000; $511,000 in cash on hand

New York’s 19th District

Republican Rep. Chris Gibson stomped venture capitalist Sean Eldridge in the reporting period. But Eldridge is personally wealthy thanks to his marriage to Facebook founder Chris Hughes and typically matches individual donations dollar-for-dollar. His pre-primary FEC report showed no personal contributions for the quarter. The two men are close to parity in cash-on-hand totals. The race is rated Tilts Republican by the Rothenberg Political Report/Roll Call.

  • Eldridge: raised $147,000; raised $164,000; had $1.56 million in cash on hand.
  • Gibson: raised $358,000; spent $109,000; $1.48 million in cash on hand.
New York’s 23rd District

Republican Rep. Tom Reed is raising more than his Democratic challenger, Tompkins County Legislator Martha Robertson. But she had a low burn-rate and is in a strong financial position for a non-incumbent.

  • Reed raised $322,000; spent $235,000; $1.16 million in cash on hand.
  • Robertson raised $168,000; spent $100,000; $882,000 in cash on hand.

Safe Open Seats

Colorado’s 4th District

In the race to replace Republican Rep. Cory Gardner, who is running for Senate, Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck far outpaces the GOP crowd financially.

  • Buck: raised $154,000; $164,000 spent; $144,000 in cash on hand.
  • Weld County Commissioner Barbara Kirkmeyer: raised $43,000; spent $62,000; $27,000 in cash on hand.
  • Former Cranston, R.I., Mayor Steve Laffey: raised $57,000; spent $320,000; $81,000 in cash on hand.
  • State Sen. Scott Renfroe: raised $56,000; spent $214,000; $33,000 in cash on hand.

Oklahoma’s 5th District

Like Buck, Republican State Corporation Commissioner Patrice Douglas far outraised the crowded GOP primary field in a race to replace a House member who is running for Senate. She is a likely bet to make the runoff to fill Republican Rep. James Lankford’s seat.

  • Douglas: raised $153,000; spent $340,000; $185,000 in cash on hand.
  • Former state Sen. Steve Russell: raised $82,000; spent $116,000; $58,000 in cash on hand.
  • State Rep. Mike Turner: raised $140,000; spent $392,000; $66,000 in cash on hand.
  • State Sen. Clark Jolley: raised $71,000; spent $96,000; $144,000 in cash on hand.

Emily Cahn contributed to this report.

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