Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) far outpaced Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Md.) in fundraising for the second quarter, as the two battle for the Democratic nomination for a U.S. Senate seat in Maryland.
Van Hollen on Wednesday announced he raised close to $1.5 million in the second quarter, bringing his total cash on hand to $3.5 million. Over the weekend, Edwards announced that she raised $590,000.
Edwards did not say how much she had in the bank at the end of June, but she ended the first quarter with only about $325,000 on hand.
{mosads}Van Hollen outraised Edwards by about a 3-to-1 margin in the first quarter, taking in about $1 million, compared to $335,000 for Edwards.
The Van Hollen campaign boasted that he would have “a likely advantage of at least 4 to 1” over Edwards in cash-on-hand as they head into the second half of the year, noting she “refused to disclose her cash-on-hand figure” while “quietly announcing” her second-quarter haul over a holiday weekend.
“There’s no question that Marylanders are responding as Chris moves across the state hearing from voters who appreciate his record of effective leadership on the issues that matter most to families at their kitchen tables,” Van Hollen campaign spokesman Erik Dorey said in a statement.
Van Hollen has had an impressive early rollout to his campaign. The former chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee picked up an early endorsement from Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and has landed dozens of endorsements from state-level lawmakers and officials.
Edwards will be looking to galvanize the grassroots base through the progressive groups that pushed her to get in, as well as EMILY’s List, the deep-pocketed group that supports pro-abortion-rights Democratic women.
Lucinda Guinn, the vice president of campaigns for Emily’s List, argued Edwards’s support from grassroots liberals would pay off in fundraising dollars over time.
“This is a developing field and Chris Van Hollen has higher expectations for fundraising,” Guinn said. “Donna has built a highly professional team and has rebuilt her campaign fundraising operation around a focus on call time. She’s investing heavily in list building and low-dollar fundraising, which will pay off over time.”
Guinn argued Maryland primary voters “have a long history of rewarding progressive leaders in statewide primaries.” She also pointed to Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R), who was elected in 2014 despite being outraised and outspent in the general election.
Van Hollen and Edwards both hail from the Washington, D.C., suburbs, but the race to replace retiring Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) could still be upended by a candidate from Baltimore.
Democratic Reps. Elijah Cummings, John Delaney, and Dutch Ruppersberger have not ruled out potential bids.
– Updated at 3:10 p.m.