Battles for Senate Seats Fierce, Costly

Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., speaks with reporters during an interview with The Associated Press in Hartford, Conn., Friday, July 14, 2006. Lieberman, facing a strong Democratic primary challenge, said Friday he has nearly $4.3 million cash on hand for his re-election campaign. (AP Photo/Fred Beckham) (Fred Beckham - AP)

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- A Maryland Republican contender for the U.S. Senate is fast outpacing the fundraising of his Democratic challengers in a state that usually leans toward Democrats.

In Montana, incumbent GOP Sen. Conrad Burns' re-election effort is drawing record contributions. But in Minnesota, the Republican vying to replace an open Senate seat has for the first time in the race slipped below his Democratic rival's fundraising pace.

In Connecticut, the campaign for Ned Lamont, the Democratic challenger to Sen. Joe Lieberman, said it has raised and spent $1.9 million in the last two months _ over half of it the candidate's own money.

The campaign was left with $276,976 on hand at the end of the most recent reporting period that ended June 30. Lamont, a Greenwich millionaire, received $829,936 from nearly 15,000 people and contributed $1.1 million to his campaign himself.

Lieberman's earlier filing showed he has nearly $4.3 million cash on hand and raised $1.3 million during the two-month period.

The deadline for submitting the latest financial reports was Saturday.

As the front-runner for the Republican nomination, Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele has the full backing of state and national GOP leaders. Help from President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney on down helped Steele overcome Rep. Benjamin Cardin's early lead.

Cardin raised more than $925,000 for his Democratic senatorial campaign in the second quarter, well ahead of his chief Democratic opponent, Kweisi Mfume, who drew $135,000 from April to June. But Steele pulled in $1.8 million in that time.

Cardin still leads with $4.5 million collected so far, but Steele isn't far behind now with $4.45 million. Mfume trails with $865,000 _ but several polls over the last year have shown him and Cardin running close to each other, well ahead in the field. Many voters are still undecided.

Burns is closing in on $7 million in contributions, an amount his campaign says is a record for a Senate campaign in Montana. Fundraising totals for Democratic challenger Jon Tester's campaign were not available yet.

Republican candidate Mark Kennedy had been out-raising Democrat Amy Klobuchar in the Minnesota race during the three previous reporting periods. But Klobuchar raised $1.83 million in the second quarter, ahead of the Kennedy campaign's $1.6 million. Kennedy still had more cash on hand, $4 million, compared to $3.5 million in the bank for Klobuchar.

The Minnesota race is shaping up as one of the most competitive in the nation. "That is the ideal condition for a campaign funding hurricane," said Larry Jacobs, a University of Minnesota political science professor.

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Associated Press writers Frederic J. Frommer and Matt Gouras contributed to this report.