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Strickland finishes 2015 raising $3.7M in contributions
Democratic candidate has more than $2M in his campaign fund
YOUNGSTOWN
Ex-Gov. Ted Strickland, a Democrat running for the U.S. Senate, had his strongest fundraising quarter of 2015 during the last three months with $1.05 million in contributions.
Strickland finished 2015 raising $3.73 million with more than $2 million in his campaign fund, meaning he spent about $1.73 million last year.
“Former Gov. Ted Strickland is running to fight for working people because that’s where he comes from and that’s who he always puts first – and the strong, grass-roots support we’re receiving is another clear sign that Ted’s message is resonating with Ohioans,” Rebecca Pearcey, his campaign manager, said Tuesday.
However, even during his best quarter, Strickland raised about half as much as U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, the Republican incumbent, collected in his worst quarter in 2015. Portman raised between $2.02 million and $2.92 million in each of the three-month periods last year.
Portman raised $9.8 million overall last year. He ended 2015 with about $12 million in his campaign fund having starting the year with $5.8 million on hand. Portman’s campaign spent about $3.6 million last year.
The last polls taken in this race were in October, showing Strickland leading Portman by 3 percentage points, which is within the margin of error.
Strickland will face Cincinnati Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld in the March 15 Democratic primary.
Sittenfeld raised $1.49 million in 2015, including $235,135 during the last three months of the year. He had $785,356 in his campaign fund as of Dec. 31, after spending about $700,000 last year.
The last polls show Portman with a double-digit lead over Sittenfeld.
Also, New Leadership for Ohio, a super political action committee that supports Sittenfeld but doesn’t coordinate with his campaign, raised $735,001 between Sept. 15 and Dec. 31.