Fundraising has been swift for one Democrat seeking his party’s nomination for Delaware’s lone congressional representative seat.
State Rep. Bryon Short (D-Highland Woods) raised more than $72,000 in two weeks before the federal campaign finance reporting deadline, with some donations coming before he even officially announced his bid late last month.
More than a third of those donations were over $100 and some donors have already hit the $2,700 ceiling for individual contributions. 81 percent of all donations came from Delawareans according to the campaign.
Short’s opponent, state Sen. Bryan Townsend (D-Newark), filed his organizational paperwork with the Federal Election Commission after the most recent reporting deadline and won’t have to open his books until January.
Meanwhile, Hans Reigel, the lone Republican in the race, collected a little under $12,000 this quarter. Reigel has gotten more than $40,000 in donations since entering the race in March, with about $30,000 cash on hand.
The race to replace incumbent U.S. Rep. John Carney (D-Delaware), who’s seeking the governor’s seat in 2016, could be one of the most contentious elections for a congressional seat Delaware has seen recently, as successors are typically apparent and rarely see competitive primary challenges.
