After poll showing Bacon far behind in the primary, his anemic fundraising raises viability questions
“With Don Bacon’s embarrassing showing thus far it’s unclear that he can even make it out of the primary,” said DCCC Spokesman Tyler Law.
This quarter was by far the worst for Bacon. He raised an anemic $39,000, while Ashford raised $300,000 (yes, that’s more than 7 times as much!). But what’s most embarrassing for Bacon in the fact that he squandered more money than he raised this quarter– a demonstration of his inability to run a fiscally disciplined campaign. In the 2nd quarter, Bacon only raised $110,000 (including $10k from his own bank account). In the 3rd quarter, he dropped down to $107,000 compared to Ashford’s $270,000.
The latest fundraising numbers come on the heels of The Rothenberg and Gonzales Political Report’s decision to move the race from Toss-Up to Toss-Up/ Tilt Democratic. Additionally, Roll Call published a closer look at the early successes in Ashford’s first term.
After showing early signs of being a recruitment failure, it’s become clear that Don Bacon has thoroughly embarrassed the Republican establishment that threw their support behind him.
Rep. Ashford puts green pastures between himself, GOP challengers in fundraising, report shows
Omaha World Herald
Joseph Morton
Rep. Brad Ashford, D-Neb., continues to pick up steam in his fundraising, according to campaign aides.
Federal Election Commission reports covering the last three months of 2015 are due this weekend.
The Omaha congressman will disclose that his campaign raised $300,817 during that time period and now has $679,240 cash on hand, according to the aides.
Those contributions include $158,167 from individuals and $142,650 from political action committees, the aides said.
Ashford campaign aide Mary Barrett said in a statement that the latest fundraising report reflects well on Ashford’s job performance.
“Brad has strong bipartisan support from community and business leaders, and it is clear that people appreciate his serious approach to his work in Congress,” Barrett said.
Ashford faces two main GOP challengers: retired Brig. Gen. Don Bacon and Chip Maxwell, a former state senator and Douglas County Board member.
The Bacon campaign has yet to release numbers for the fourth quarter of 2015 but will do so soon. The Bacon campaign had $152,000 cash on hand at the end of the prior reporting period.
Maxwell has been touting a poll released this month that showed him with a sizable lead over Bacon — 31 percent to 11 percent — among likely Republican primary voters in the 2nd District. But that same poll also showed that nearly six out of ten people surveyed were undecided.