GOP funds at top in Congress races; state incumbents overwhelm rivals

From left, U.S. Sen. John Boozman and U.S. Reps. French Hill and Bruce Westerman, all R-Ark., are shown in this undated combination photo.
From left, U.S. Sen. John Boozman and U.S. Reps. French Hill and Bruce Westerman, all R-Ark., are shown in this undated combination photo.

WASHINGTON -- Arkansas Republicans running for reelection to Congress are dominating their Democratic opponents on the fundraising front months ahead of the November general election, according to the latest filings with the Federal Election Commission.

The campaign for U.S. Sen. John Boozman, who is running for a third term in the Senate, brought in $787,428 from May 5 through the end of June, according to an FEC report filed Friday.

His campaign spent $1,013,100 during that time period and reported cash on hand of $1,355,104 as of the end of June.

"We're delighted with the continued support and momentum in this campaign," Boozman's campaign said in a statement Saturday.

Boozman, a Rogers Republican, coasted to victory in the Senate Republican primary in May, fending off challengers from the right.

Real estate agent Natalie James of Little Rock is the Democratic candidate in the Senate race. A July quarterly report from James' campaign had yet to be posted to the FEC website as of Saturday morning. The FEC filing deadline for the report was Friday.

Additionally, the FEC has issued a letter to the treasurer of James' campaign committee, warning that the failure to "timely file" a pre-primary report could lead to an audit or civil money penalties. The letter was dated in May.

FEC website did not show a pre-primary report from James' campaign committee on file as of Saturday morning.

"The campaign recognizes the importance of filing financial reports and is working diligently to file its Q2 Report as well as the 12-Day Pre-Primary Report," the James campaign said in a statement Saturday.

Her campaign's latest filing showed her campaign with a cash on hand of $14,191 at the end of March. The campaign reported bringing in $7,419 and spending $612 in the first three months of the year.

Commission filings can give insight into the financial operations of a congressional campaign and provide specifics on who is funding a candidate's campaign, along with how the campaign is spending money.

In the Senate race, Kenneth Cates of Harrison is listed as a Libertarian party candidate.

A statement of candidacy for Cates was not listed on the FEC website Saturday morning, and efforts to reach Cates for comment were not successful.

In the race for Arkansas' 2nd Congressional District, the campaign committee for Republican U.S. Rep. French Hill of Little Rock listed receipts at $469,905 from May 5 through the end of June. The campaign spent $721,134 during that period and reported having $1,336,894 in cash on hand as of June 30.

"The last FEC filing demonstrates the continued momentum of the campaign, as well as the strong support for the job that Congressman Hill is doing to represent central Arkansans and their values in Congress," Hill's campaign said in a statement.

As of Saturday morning, the FEC website did not have campaign finance figures covering June and part of May for Democratic candidate Quintessa Hathaway of Sherwood.

Emails requesting comment from Hathaway were not immediately returned Saturday.

Libertarian Michael White of Little Rock is also a candidate for the 2nd Congressional District.

A statement of candidacy for White was not listed on the FEC website Saturday morning. White, in a statement, said his campaign is not required to file a statement of candidacy at this time.

"My campaign has yet to raise or spend the $5,000.00 aggregate limit for campaign contributions or expenditures," he said in the statement.

U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, a Republican from Rogers who is running for reelection in the 3rd Congressional District, listed receipts of $168,962 and expenditures of $88,402 from May 5 through the end of June for his campaign committee. That left his campaign with $1,864,035.

His Democratic opponent, Lauren Mallett-Hays of Farmington, reported bringing in $1,316 and spending of $1,113 during that same period. That left her campaign with cash on hand of $947 as of June 30.

Libertarian Michael J. Kalagias of Rogers is also a candidate for the congressional seat. As of Saturday morning, a statement of candidacy for Kalagias was not posted on the FEC website. Efforts to reach him for comment were not successful.

U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford of Jonesboro, a Republican, is running for reelection in the state's 1st Congressional District.

His campaign committee reported a cash-on-hand total of $537,919 at the end of last month. The campaign reported receipts of $121,185 and expenditures of $126,644 from May 5 through June 30.

For that same time period, Democratic state Rep. Monte Hodges of Blytheville, who is challenging Crawford for the seat, reported raising $2,390 and spending $9,134, leaving his campaign with $6,561 at the end of June.

The campaign for U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, a Republican from Hot Springs representing the 4th Congressional District, reported receipts of $222,734 and expenditures of $279,760. His campaign had cash on hand of $1,464,856 at the end of last month.

Libertarian Gregory Maxwell of Dover and John White of Stephens, who is listed as a Democratic candidate, are also candidates for the 4th Congressional District, according to the Arkansas secretary of state's website.

The FEC website did not show a statement of candidacy for either Maxwell or John White as of Saturday morning.

John White said he's not accepting campaign donations.

Asked why a statement of candidacy for his campaign did not appear on the FEC website, Maxwell said he was going to "fix it."


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