HELENA – Democratic U.S. House candidate Kathleen Williams on Monday reported raising $430,000 in the first three months of her candidacy, making her the fundraising leader in the 2020 race for Montana’s open congressional seat.
But two Republicans also posted substantial fundraising numbers Monday — and did so after being officially in the race for only two weeks before the June 30 reporting deadline.
State Auditor Matt Rosendale said his campaign raised $263,000, while Secretary of State Corey Stapleton said he raised about $108,000.
In Montana’s 2020 U.S. Senate race, incumbent Republicans Steve Daines rolled up another $1.33 million for his re-election campaign in the second quarter, increasing his overall bankroll to $3.5 million.
Democrats have not fielded a high-profile challenger for Daines and the only two Democrats in the race didn’t report any fundraising totals Monday.
Helena Mayor Wilmot Collins, who kicked off his campaign in May, hadn’t released any numbers by Monday evening and his report wasn’t available on the Federal Election Commission website.
John Mues, a U.S. Navy veteran from Loma, just launched his Senate campaign last week and wasn’t required to file a report.
The race for Montana’s U.S. House seat has seven official candidates: Williams and two other Democrats — state Rep. Tom Winter of Missoula and rancher Matt Rains of Simms — and four Republicans: Rosendale, Stapleton, Helena farmer-rancher Joe Dooling and Corvallis Superintendent of Schools Tim Johnson.
Winter, who got into the race in early April, reported Monday that he had raised $130,000 in campaign funds.
Dooling got into the race only days before the reporting deadline for the second quarter and said he had only a few donations.
Johnson and Rains entered the race last week, so their first fundraising report won’t be due until October.
-Mike Dennison reporting for MTN News
