Schweikert campaign spent more than it raised

Rep. David Schweikert’s campaign spent more money in the past three months than it took in, a sign his re-election efforts are sputtering midway through the year.

Schweikert, a five-term Arizona Republican who has attracted three Democratic challengers in the GOP-leaning 6th Congressional District, raised $237,000 from all sources and spent nearly $308,000 between April and June, according to campaign finance reports filed Monday with the Federal Election Commission.

It left his campaign with about $170,000 in cash. The campaign also had nearly $91,000 in debt at the end of the quarter, most of it for legal expenses.

Legal expenditures, much of it related to a pending ethics investigation, accounted for $244,000 of Schweikert’s campaign spending.

Chris Baker, a Schweikert campaign consultant, dismissed the poor showing. He vowed that the legal expenses would come down and that the debt was largely paid off.

“It’s a one-off situation. It’s not going to continue,” he said. “We’re quite confident this is a one-off situation.”

Seven of the state’s nine representatives’ reports had been filed by Monday afternoon. No one else had spent more than they raised in the latest quarter. Schweikert’s spending doubled the next-highest figure among Arizona members of Congress.

Schweikert’s cash reserves were lower than every Arizona incumbent except for Rep. Raúl Grijalva, DAriz., the dean of the state’s House delegation who occupies a safely Democratic district.

Schweikert’s debt is topped only by Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., whose campaign still owes him $116,000 for a loan in his 2016 campaign.

Taken as a whole, it is a troubling financial appearance for the Schweikert campaign.

By comparison, at the same point in 2017, Schweikert’s campaign raised $205,000 but spent only $123,000. It finished the first half of that year with $236,000 in cash and reported no debt.

At least one Democrat is ahead of Schweikert in money, though it is unclear how much it will mean in a traditionally Republican-leaning district.

Democrat Hiral Tipirneni said last week she raised $440,000 from all sources and finished the quarter with $445,000 in cash. Her campaign also carried $70,000 from Tipirneni’s unsuccessful runs in another district in 2018. Democrats Anita Malik and Stephanie Rimmer had not yet filed their reports.