Republican Senate challengers in Massachusetts report strong summer fundraising totals, still trail Elizabeth Warren

FILE - In this March 3, 2017, file photo, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., center, smiles during a small business roundtable discussion in Lawrence, Mass. At left is Rep. Niki Tsongas, D-Mass., and at right is Lawrence Mayor Daniel Rivera. The Senator won't face re-election until November 2018, but several Republicans have announced their candidacies, others are said to be weighing runs and conservative political groups are chipping away at the candidate. Still, Warren enjoys enormous advantages, including a national base of support and a fat campaign account. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)(Elise Amendola)

Despite U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren pulling in a reported $1 million per month for her re-election bid, Republican candidates vying to unseat her in 2018 have collected sizable contributions of their own in recent months, according to campaign finance data released this week.

Warren, who faces a series of GOP challengers and Republican National Committee-backed attacks, brought in nearly $3 million for her campaign this summer, reporting a cash balance of nearly $13 million as of Sept. 30, her campaign reported Friday.

Although Republican candidates trail the high-profile Democrat in overall fundraising, contributions GOP challengers reportedly raised between July and September suggest Warren may not have such a large financial advantage in 2018.

Republican businessman John Kingston, who is expected to formally enter the U.S. Senate race next week, for example, collected nearly $3.26 million during the quarter that ended on Sept. 30, his exploratory committee reported Tuesday.

That amount, it noted, included $256,000 in contributions and a $3 million loan. The campaign ended the quarter with a cash balance of $3 million after expenditures, officials added.

The Federal Elections Commission had yet to post Kingston's campaign finance report for the October reporting period as of Wednesday.

Fellow Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Shiva Ayyadurai, a Cambridge-based entrepreneur, meanwhile, reported more than $1.21 million in net contributions between June and the end of September, according to FEC filings provided by his campaign.

Those contributions, included more than $66,200 in donations from individuals and nearly $1.15 million from the candidate during the reporting period. The campaign, meanwhile, reportedly spent $1.16 million, bringing its cash balance to $74,343, the FEC filing stated.

Ayyadurai contended that the money will help his campaign further organize its nearly 5,000 volunteers across Massachusetts.

"The innovative infrastructure we are putting in place, made possible from these contributions, will make this a historic campaign for everyday people to have their voices heard while inspiring them to be citizen-statesmen as the founders of America truly intended," he said in a statement.

State Rep. Geoff Diehl, R-Whitman, who is also running for the U.S. Senate seat, reported raising $367,000 in the third quarter of 2017 -- an amount that brought his cash balance to a total of $281,139 after expenditures, according to FEC data his campaign provided Tuesday.

Republican Beth Lindstrom, who entered the 2018 U.S. Senate race in August, raised more than $75,000 for her bid between Aug. 21 and Sept. 30, including $50,000 from individual donors and $25,000 in candidate loans, according to campaign finance data filed with the FEC.

Lindstrom is expected to add even more to her account next quarter, as she's reportedly scheduled to make a fundraising appearance at the National Republican Senatorial Committee headquarters in Washington later this month.

The former aide to Mitt Romney and manager of Scott Brown's 2010 Senate campaign had a cash balance of $42,500 after spending more than $32,500 during the reporting period, according to FEC filings.

Heidi Wellman, an account manager at Pevear Insurance Agency in Wellesley and another Republican vying to unseat Warren, reported a much more modest campaign balance and fundraising total during the third quarter of 2017.

Wellman's campaign brought in just $915 between July and the end of September, including $869 from the candidate, according to FEC data. The campaign, which further reported spending all of its contributions, had a cash balance to $0.

The FEC, meanwhile, had yet to release October Quarterly campaign finance reports for Allen Rodney Waters, of Mashpee, and Darius Mitchell, of Lowell, who have also filed to run as Republicans for the Massachusetts Senate seat in 2018.

Warren reportedly collected a total of $2.98 million in the third fundraising quarter of 2017 -- a slight drop from the $3.45 million and $5.2 million she reportedly raked in during the respective second and first quarters of 2017, her campaign reported last week.

Similar to previous fundraising periods, Warren's campaign contended that most of the donations made to the senator's re-election bid were small dollar contributions -- nearly all, or 99 percent, of which were $100 or less.

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