One of the things Gutknecht has bragged about in the past is that he limits the PACs' share of contributions to around a third of the haul. Tim Walz's campaign is enough of a threat that Gutknecht has had to break that pattern.
The Rochester Post Bulletin reports on the last round of fundraising:
WASHINGTON -- Rep. Gil Gutknecht held a better than 2-1 advantage in cash on hand over challenger Tim Walz in their 1st Congressional District race at the end of September, according to disclosures recently filed with the Federal Election Commission.
Gutknecht, a Republican from Rochester , had $790,865 in cash, compared to $289,250 reported by Walz, the Democratic nominee from Mankato. Neither candidate reported outstanding debts.
Gutknecht has outraised Walz for the campaign to date, however. Gutknecht's campaign has raised $1,108,738 in net contributions, while Walz had $750,870 in net contributions.
As for Gutknecht, for the quarter PACs gave him $155,250, or 75 percent of his net donations. For the campaign, individuals have given the majority, or about 59 percent.
Neither candidate has seen significant direct support from party committees. Gutknecht got just $600 for the quarter and Walz just $800. Still, the figures mask the involvement of the Republican Party and outside groups via independent expenditures against the candidate they oppose.
For instance, the House Republican campaign wing, the National Republican Congressional Committee, on Monday bought $7,980 in ads to use against Walz, and last Thursday spent $12,705 on polling on the race, bringing its spending on the campaign to $20,685.
The race continues to make the list of races to watch as compiled by independent Washington election handicapper Charlie Cook. On Friday Cook ranked it as a likely Republican victory. At the same time, he said current political conditions are so bad for Republican incumbents that second- and third-tier Democratic candidates have a chance to pull off unexpected victories.
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