In the race to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, a new round of campaign finance reports marked Republican candidate Daniel Cameron's best fundraising numbers yet.
The former Kentucky attorney general raised about $411,000 in the quarter ending Sept. 30, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission.
In the previous quarter, Cameron raised about $386,000 and had $530,000 cash on hand. But Cameron and his team are not relying on fundraising figures to underline the campaign's success.
Instead, his team is touting the polls they recently released. According to a poll conducted from October 8 to 10 through Co/Efficient Polling, which was co-founded by Cameron's general counsel, 39% of those polled would vote for Cameron.
Meanwhile, two other high-profile Republicans entering the race have boosted their numbers by six figures — far better than the 2023 gubernatorial candidate.
Lexington businessman Nate Morris reported raising more than $4 million in his first quarter of racing, including a $3 million personal investment. He currently has about $1.1 million on hand and previously announced a seven-figure ad buy criticizing McConnell, along with competitors Cameron and U.S. Rep. Andy Barr.
Barr, who has represented Kentucky's 6th Congressional District since 2013, reported raising nearly $1.8 million in the third quarter, up from the $1.4 million he raised in the second quarter of the year. He has more than $6.1 million in cash on hand and has previously transferred money from his House campaign to his Senate campaign.
Barr also launched his first major TV ad buy, opposing two conservative PACs that paid for TV ads attacking him.
On the Democratic side of the race, four candidates are now vying for the party's nomination, hoping to flip the seat from red to blue. Those candidates are state Rep. Pamela Stevenson, former CIA officer Joel Willett, attorney Logan Forsythe and former Navy veteran Amy McGrath.
More: Mitch McConnell 'all good' after staying in Senate before vote, team says
McGrath, who previously ran for Senate against McConnell in 2020, announced her campaign after the most recent filing deadline and was not required to report her fundraising totals.
Stevenson, the first Democrat to announce a campaign, reported raising about $41,000 in the third quarter, with about $24,800 cash on hand.
At the time of publication, Forsythe and Willett's reports were not publicly available.
The U.S. Senate race isn't the only high-profile race in Kentucky. Barr running for Senate leaves an open House seat in Central Kentucky, and the race in Kentucky's 6th Congressional District is already busy on both sides of the aisle.
Reach reporter Hannah Pinski at [email protected] or follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @hannahpinski.
This article originally appeared in the Louisville Courier Journal: McConnell Senate race continues to rake in millions in fundraising
