Bruce Poliquin leads in 2nd District campaign contributions

U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin is well ahead of any of his 2nd District opponents when it comes to fundraising.

The Republican collected more than $430,000 during the first quarter of the year and has more than $2.2 million in his campaign fund. That is 22 percent more than Poliquin had at the same time in 2016.

Poliquin said many news reports show that House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., hopes the Democrats snatch his seat to help her party gain control for the first time since 2010, an outcome he hopes to avoid.

In a prepared statement, Poliquin said he is “working to block out all of that noise and stay focused on one goal and objective: strongly representing the people of Maine.”

The only Democrat to offer any information about his fundraising is Lewiston state Rep. Jared Golden.

His campaign has raised more than $600,000 so far.

None of the other three Democratic challengers has released campaign finance information for the quarter that ended March 31. Four of them are vying in a June 12 primary for the opportunity to take on Poliquin in November. One of them, environmentalist Lucas St. Clair, said his numbers are not quite tallied. He said, however, that “this election won’t be decided by money alone.”

“Maine has proven time and again that elections aren’t won with money alone,” Golden said.

Jonathan Fulford, another Democratic contender who has not released his finances, said Poliquin’s campaigns “are about money and endless TV ads,” funded mostly by political action committees. Two years ago, Democrat Emily Cain had raised $1.2 million by this time in her unsuccessful campaign to knock out Poliquin.

She had $785,000 on hand after raising $386,000 during the first quarter of 2016. An independent in this year’s race, lawyer Tiffany Bond, is calling on supporters to give their money to Maine businesses and charities instead of donating to her campaign. She hopes that a social media-driven, grassroots effort can propel her to victory.

By the end of 2017, Golden had raised $346,000 to lead challengers in rounding up campaign cash. In second place: St. Clair, who had hauled in $207,000.