Here’s how much Ruben Gallego, Kari Lake raised last quarter in Arizona’s Senate race

PHOENIX — Democratic U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego outraised Kari Lake by over $1 million during the Republican front-runner’s first quarter as a candidate in Arizona’s 2024 U.S. Senate race.

While Gallego had 10 more days than Lake to raise funds over the final three months of 2023, his financial advantage significantly outpaced his head start.

When broken down by daily average, the Democrat took in about $35,900 per day over the 92 days of October-December. Meanwhile, Lake’s daily average was just under $26,900 for the 82 days she was officially in the race.

How much did Ruben Gallego and Kari Lake raise in Q4 of 2023?

Lake, the Donald Trump-endorsed former TV news anchor and losing 2022 GOP gubernatorial nominee, launched her Senate candidacy Oct. 10. On Monday, her campaign announced $2.2 million in contributions for her first federal fundraising report.

“Kari Lake is outworking everyone, posting a very strong fundraising haul for her first quarter in the race,” her campaign said in a press release. “Arizona is the best pick-up opportunity for Senate Republicans, and Kari is well positioned to win in November.”

Gallego’s campaign, meanwhile, said the Democrat added $3.3 million to his total during the last three months of 2023. The Marine veteran in his fifth term as a congressman has reported more than $13 million in contributions since declaring his candidacy a year ago and entered the election year with about $6.5 million cash on hand.

“Over the past year, our campaign has built the infrastructure to take on whatever comes our way in 2024 thanks to the support of hundreds of thousands of small-dollar donors who chipped in what they could to elect Ruben Gallego,” Nichole Johnson, Gallego’s campaign manager, said in a release. “Arizonans know it is time to elect a senator who will actually fight for them — which is why our campaign continues to dominate the competition as we prepare to win this senate race.”

What do we know about Kyrsten Sinema’s reelection campaign?

Incumbent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, an independent, hasn’t yet confirmed whether she’s running for reelection in 2024.

The former Democrat hasn’t yet revealed her fourth-quarter fundraising numbers, but she had over $10 million on hand after the third quarter, according Federal Elections Commission records.

Jan. 31 is the FEC filing deadline for year-end campaign finance reports.

Why is there so much interest in Arizona’s 2024 Senate race?

Gallego is running unopposed in the Democratic primary, and Lake is the heavy favorite for the GOP nomination. If Sinema runs, it would create a hotly contested three-way battle.

With or without Sinema, the race for her swing-state seat will be one of the most closely watched contests of the 2024 election. It could decide which party comes away with control of the Senate.

Republican Mark Lamb, Pinal County’s sheriff, is the only other candidate for Sinema’s seat with previous fundraising reports. He had about $307,000 on hand after three quarters and hasn’t announced his fourth-quarter numbers.

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