WASHINGTON - Rep. Angie Craig has a large cash advantage over two GOP challengers as the Democrat looks to keep her congressional swing district seat.
Rep. Angie Craig has major fundraising lead in swing district race
The Democratic incumbent's total haul was $840,000 in a three month span.
July 18, 2023 at 10:05AM
The latest federal campaign filing for Craig, who won a third term last fall, shows her campaign brought in more than $840,000 from April to the end of June. She has more than $1.1 million in cash at this stage of the race.
"History shows that most support for Republicans running against me will come from large super PACs — not the candidates themselves," Craig wrote in a statement. "MAGA Republican super PACs spent $13.5 million against me in 2022 and seem poised to do so again. But I've never been one to back down from a fight. We will be ready for 2024."
On the Republican side, Burnsville criminal defense lawyer Tayler Rahm brought in just under $51,500 after being in the race for about a month before the fundraising period ended. His campaign has about $34,000 in cash, per his campaign's filing.
"Tayler is a brand-new candidate to the field. He's only had 30 days, but he certainly showed that he's got moxie and momentum," Rahm's campaign manager Jill Vujovich-Laabs said.
Former Lexington mayor, Mike Murphy, announced his run for Craig's seat early in the fundraising period, but has struggled to raise money. His campaign's filing shows the effort bringing in less than $4,000. The former GOP candidate for governor did not respond to attempts to contact him Monday.
Like last cycle, Craig's seat already is being targeted by the National Republican Congressional Committee. Chris Gustafson, a spokesman for the House GOP's campaign arm, said in an email that "no amount of money will absolve Craig of her failures in office."
The state of the race is far different from the campaign at this point two years ago, when Republican Tyler Kistner already had announced a repeat attempt to try to oust Craig after falling short in 2020.
Kistner's campaign reported raising around $279,000 from April to the end of June 2021. He was not yet in the race at the same point during the 2020 cycle.
Craig narrowly won the contest against Kistner in 2020, but earned a five-point victory last fall in a race that saw major outside spending.
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