Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes (D) raised more than Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) in the first three months of 2014, taking in $2.7 million to McConnell's $2.4 million as she campaigns to unseat the powerful senator.
Grimes' campaign said in a statement that it has received donations from almost 45,000 individual supporters, with a median contribution of $25.
“Grassroots supporters from all 120 Kentucky counties have invested in our campaign, demonstrating the growing excitement from Democrats, Republicans and Independents to elect a leader who will bring a fresh, bold vision to the U.S. Senate,” Grimes senior adviser Jonathan Hurst said Tuesday. “Alison’s focus on creating good-paying jobs and strengthening the middle class is clearly resonating with Kentuckians, and our supporters understand the importance of ensuring our positive message for Kentucky’s future reaches all corners of the Commonwealth over the coming seven months.”
McConnell's campaign announced Monday that the beginning of 2014 was the senator's best fundraising quarter so far this cycle. His campaign has $10.4 million in cash on hand, to Grimes' almost $5 million.
Grimes also outraised McConnell in the last three months of 2013. In the most recent quarter, she got some help from former President Bill Clinton, who headlined a February fundraiser for her in Louisville.
Before the senator can face Grimes in November, he must beat back a primary challenge from businessman and tea party favorite Matt Bevin. A Bluegrass Poll conducted in February found that just 27 percent of Kentuckians have a favorable opinion of McConnell, which could pose a problem for the senator.
Grimes' campaign told the Courier-Journal that she now has enough cash to spread her message to a broader audience.
"Our campaign is in a great position to define ourselves," Hurst told the paper.
HuffPost Pollster, which combines all publicly available polling data, shows Grimes and McConnell in a dead heat.
UPDATE: 2:03 p.m. -- Allison Moore, a spokeswoman for McConnell, issued a statement on the fundraising numbers:
"The very same ultra rich liberal elite who bankrolled Barack Obama into the White House are pulling out all the stops for Alison Lundergan Grimes. Kentuckians know darn well her entire campaign is funded by those who seek to destroy Kentucky values and our way of life and the only way they can accomplish that is by getting rid of the man responsible for stopping them, Mitch McConnell."
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