MFP on pre-primary FEC reports: Walz $250,000, Davis $100,000

While we've been posting congressional candidates' pre-primary fundraising reports from the FEC, the candidates in the First haven't filed yet. However, the MFP's political beat writer Mark Fischenich reports from the campaigns in Walz amassing campaign war chest; Davis has more cash than past challengers:

If the ability to raise money proves to be the deciding factor of the campaign season, Democratic Congressman Tim Walz looks likely to beat Republican Brian Davis in the Nov. 4 general election . . .

. . . Walz will report raising another $240,000 to $250,000 between July 1 and Aug. 20, according to campaign manager Chris Schmitter. Davis said his fund-raising during the same period will be about $100,000.

Day’s campaign probably won’t get its report ready until just before the Thursday deadline.

Fischenich makes the comparison between 2006 and 2008:

When Davis’ contributions and loans to his campaign are included — an amount that now tops $185,000 — he’s surpassing the fund-raising pace of Walz during his campaign to topple Gutknecht. Walz had raised $546,000 through mid-August of 2006 compared to the approximately $714,000 Davis will report on Thursday.

This campaign, however, Walz has raised substantially more than Gutknecht had at the same point in 2006 — more than $2.1 million compared to Gutknecht’s $840,000. Walz also has more than $1.2 million in cash available for the final 10 weeks of the campaign, nearly $400,000 more than Gutknecht had in August of 2006.

And Walz's genial campaign manager Chris Schmitter points out that money isn't everything:

“We’re excited about this, but this is only a piece of the overall campaign,” Schmitter said, saying the campaign has an army of volunteers who have already made about 100,000 phone calls to voters and knocked on approximately 60,000 doors. “We’re confident we’ll have the volunteers and the financial resources we need to win in November. We feel good. We feel great.”

In honor of that grassroots effort, Schmitter,  the lovely Leah Solo and all those who help her with volunteer coordination to knock on doors and ring doorbells, a tune from the White Stripes: