By Jerry Cornfield
Democratic congressional candidate Suzan DelBene began October with nearly $170,000 more in the bank than her Republican rival John Koster.
What may surprise political observers is that the millionaire DelBene held the advantage on Koster without putting in any of her own money since the August primary. The two are dueling in the 1st Congressional District.
On Oct. 1, DelBene had $486,372 on hand compared to Koster’s sum of $317,000, according to federal campaign finance reports posted online today.
The reports cover money raised and spent between July 19 and Sept. 30 and include expenditures for the Aug. 7 primary.
You can see a summary of their reports here, here and here.
DelBene’s report shows she raised $965,541 in that period of which $565,541 came from donors and political committees and $400,000 was her own money which she spent in the final days of the primary.
DelBene’s fund raising total for the entire election cycle is $3.4 million through Sept. 30, of which $1.1 million is from donors and $2.3 million is her own money.
Koster has set up two fund raising committees, one for the election in the district’s new boundaries for a two-year term and a second one for the special election for a one-month term
His reports show he raised roughly $432,000 between the two committees between July 19 and Sept. 30.
Koster’s fund raising total for the election was $920,000 through Sept. 30, according to records of the Federal Election Commission.
