Jason Kander’s Senate campaign collects $783K in first six weeks; Blunt campaign claims $1 million Q1 tally

Democratic Senate candidate Jason Kander raised more than $783,000 in the first six weeks of the race, his campaign announced Monday.

Kander is the presumptive opponent to incumbent Sen. Roy Blunt, a Republican.

The Missouri Democrat and current secretary of state took in $783,465 through March 31, according to documents filed with the Federal Election Commission. Kander declared his candidacy Feb. 19.

His fundraising included nearly $100,000 from political committees. The rest came from individual donations.

“Missourians are sending a very clear message that they’re tired of having a senator that represents Washington instead of Missouri,” spokesman Abe Rakov said in a statement.

Kander’s campaign spent $83,000 in the quarter, leaving him with $700,000 in the bank.

Blunt had $2.2 million on hand at the end of 2014, FEC records show. His first quarter fundraising information is due April 15.

UPDATE: The Blunt campaign said Monday afternoon it will show a $1 million fundraising quarter when it files its FEC report, with $3 million on hand.

If Kander can maintain the fundraising pace of the first quarter he could raise more than $5 million in the 12 months. That’s good, but he’ll want to raise more if he can.

Robin Carnahan raised $10.3 million in her 2010 campaign against Blunt when the seat was open. Blunt raised nearly $12 million that cycle.

Outside groups spent another $10 million on the race.

This story was originally published April 6, 2015 at 7:00 AM.