Lake’s campaign raised less money than it said

U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake’s campaign added to its debt total in the first three months of the year and appeared to raise less money than her team said on Sunday, according to records filed Monday.

The Republican front-runner’s overall financial picture was weaker than it previously appeared and Democratic Senate rival Ruben Gallego’s edge over Lake on money matters is wider.

Lake and Gallego, along with Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, a Republican, are aiming for the seat being vacated by U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., who will not seek a second six-year term.

Lake ended the quarter with $451,000 in campaign debt. Before that, her campaign reported debt of $308,000 in her first quarter in the race.

Lake’s campaign told The Arizona Republic on Sunday that Lake had pulled in $4.1 million in the first quarter of the year. In records submitted to the Federal Election Commission on Monday, the campaign’s total receipts were listed as $3.6 million.

Her campaign did not immediately clarify the roughly $500,000 disparity with The Republic late Monday.

Lake’s Victory Fund, a joint fundraising committee, raised $926,000 in the first quarter of the year, but that money is split with the National Republican Senatorial Committee and a Lakealigned political action committee, Keep America Red Indefinitely, or KARI PAC.

Lake’s campaign showed $291,000 in transfers from the Kari Lake Victory Fund by the end of March to help bring its receipts to $3.6 million.

KARI PAC had $61,000 in cash at the start of the year and slightly less than that by the end of February, records show.

Lake’s campaign effectively has less available money than her top-line numbers suggest. For example, she pulled in $70,000 earmarked for the general election, meaning those funds are off limits unless and until Lake clinches the GOP nomination.

Gallego’s campaign filed its quarterly records Monday and they showed he raised $7.5 million in the first three months and has set aside $9.6 million in cash, as it had previously told The Republic. His campaign reported having no debts.

Lamb’s campaign reported raising $241,000 and finished the quarter with $254,000 in cash. His campaign also reported $117,000 in debts.

Lake received $52,800 from the NRSC in another sign of its support for her despite the open primary involving Lamb.

Of $2.9 million in donations from individuals in the first quarter of the year, slightly more than half came from those who gave less than $200, a group commonly identified as small donors. That is usually interpreted as a sign of voter support for those who live in Arizona.

By contrast, Gallego pulled in $6.8 million in the quarter from individuals. About $2.9 million were small donors.

The battle over money in Arizona figures to remain an area of intense interest as a measure of a campaign’s momentum.

Gallego, the only prominent Democrat running in the race, has already begun advertising on broadcast television and other screens across the state in a sign of confidence that he can sustain the high cost of advertising.

Lake’s campaign has previously said his early presence on television was because he is losing the race. Polling generally shows a tight race and political experts regard it as a toss-up.