Democrat Martha Coakley, Massachusetts' Attorney General, topped $2 million in her first month of fundraising for the contest to fill the late Edward M. Kennedy's U.S. Senate seat.
That figure -- released Thursday, a day after the third-quarter reporting period ended -- was more than double the original goal set by Coakley's campaign. And it confirmed Coakley's status as the widely perceived front-runner for the Dec. 8 Democratic primary, which will precede the Jan. 19 special election.
Coakley is opposed in the primary by Rep. Michael E. Capuano; Stephen Pagliuca, managing director of the financial firm Bain Capital and a co-owner of the NBA's Boston Celtics; and Alan Khazei, co-founder of the City Year national volunteer program.
The Democratic nominee will likely be a strong favorite to win the seat in Massachusetts, one of the party's premier strongholds. The winner of the general election will succeed interim Sen. Paul G. Kirk Jr., a longtime Kennedy associate and former Democratic National Committee chairman who was appointed by Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick and sworn in Sept. 25, exactly a month after Kennedy died of cancer.
The fundraising number provides an important marker for Coakley, who entered the race playing catch-up with Capuano. The Boston congressman reported $1.2 million in cash on hand in his House campaign account as of June 30, all of which is convertible to his Senate campaign treasury under federal law. Capuano announced Wednesday that he raised $300,000 since declaring his Senate candidacy Sept. 18.
Coakley also will need significant financial resources to compete with Pagliuca, who has personal wealth to deploy if he chooses to do so, and Khazei, who has enjoyed a rush of support from a base of activist supporters in the early days of his Senate bid.
Khazei's campaign announced Thursday that he had raised more than $1 million through Sept. 30, while pledging not to take money from lobbyists or political action committees. Pagliuca has not yet released his third-quarter figures.
Coakley has enjoyed a solid lead in early polls thanks to her name recognition as a popular statewide officeholder.
On Wednesday, Ellen Malcolm, president of abortion rights PAC EMILY's List and a Coakley supporter, predicted the Attorney General would win the race if she could maintain financial parity with Capuano and Pagliuca.
While the Democratic leanings of the state have produced a competitive primary field, state Republicans appear prepared to hand their nomination to state Sen. Scott Brown.
CQ Politics currently rates the general election Democrat Favored.
To see how all of the 2010 Senate races are shaping up, check out the CQ Politics' election map.
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