Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., again outraised her most prominent opponent in the second quarter of this year, but GOP Rep. Bill Cassidy is closing the gap.
Landrieu raised $1.67 million between April 1 and June 30 and ended the period with $4.86 million in her account, according to a release from her campaign. Cassidy, who announced his campaign on April 2, raised $1.1 million during the same period, and ended June with $3.2 million in the bank, according to a statement set to be released on Tuesday.
Though Landrieu leads in both money raised and cash on-hand, Cassidy is ramping up his fundraising, too. Landrieu raised more than twice as much as Cassidy did in the first three months of the year, just before he announced his campaign. And Cassidy's second-quarter haul is roughly equivalent to Landrieu's in the first quarter ($1.2 million).
Cassidy's campaign is comparing his second-quarter numbers to those of Sen. David Vitter (R), who raised $1.2 million and had $3.2 million on hand at this point in 2009. Vitter, who easily won reelection in 2010 despite admitting to soliciting prostitutes, is helping Cassidy to raise money, including a Washington fundraiser featuring the state's entire Republican delegation . Vitter has been instrumental in getting the delegation behind Cassidy and reportedly talked fellow Republican Rep. John Fleming out of running for the seat as well.
Cassidy's strong fundraising report could put to rest lingering concerns about the depth of his support and his ability to energize the Republican base. The Senate Conservatives Fund has questioned Cassidy's conservatism and indicated that it will back another candidate. Retired Air Force Colonel Rob Maness is also running as a Republican, though his fundraising figures were not yet available.
Landrieu also announced several additions to her campaign team on Tuesday. Adam Sullivan, who ran campaigns for Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Rep. Kathy Hochul, D-N.Y., will serve as Landrieu's campaign manager. Mark Mellman is running polling, Mark Putnam will handle media and Greg Rigamore will serve as the campaign's demographer. Finance Director Tina Stoll is staying on in that position, and Kate Magsamen and Alicia Pardo will serve as Louisiana finance directors.
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