Sherrod Brown says campaign set fundraising record in first quarter

The $3.3M raised brings his cash on hand to $11.8M; Republicans yet to file.

Sen. Sherrod Brown has raised nearly $19.7 million for his re-election to date, and with eight months until Election Day has more than $11.8 million in the bank, according to his latest campaign finance report.

Brown, a Democrat seeking his third term in the U.S. Senate, raised $3.3 million in the first quarter of this year alone. The $11.8 million he has to spend is nearly twice as much as his campaign had at this point in 2012.

Brown’s campaign says his fundraising sets an Ohio record for a campaign in the first quarter of an election year. By contrast, Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, raised roughly $2.4 million during that same period in 2016, a year when much of the fundraising was aimed the presidential race.

Brown is seeking to defend his Senate seat in one of the 10 states where Democrats are up for election in a state won by President Donald Trump in 2016.

“No one fights harder for Ohioans than Sherrod Brown and it’s clear Ohioans are rallying around Sherrod in his re-election campaign,” said Friends of Sherrod Brown Campaign Manager Justin Barasky. According to the campaign, 30,575 people contributed to Brown during the first quarter of 2018, with 129,161 individuals giving this cycle. Their average contribution is $44.

Among the Republicans vying to challenge him in November are Rep. Jim Renacci of Wadsworth, banker Mike Gibbons of Cleveland, small business owner Melissa Ackison of Marysville and retiree Don Elijah Eckhart of Galloway. We’ll update this story when those reports come in. The Federal Election Commission deadline for filing reports in the Senate race is Sunday, March 15.

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