Kendall Qualls, the Republican candidate running against Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN-03), has outraised his opponent in the pre-primary reporting period.
During the period from July 1 to 22, the Qualls campaign raised over $177,000, which is $106,000 more than the $71,152 raised by Phillips. In addition to outraising Phillips, Qualls continued to keep his cash-on-hand in the lead, holding $535,000, compared to the congressman’s $467,000.
“I am exceptionally grateful to every one of the thousands of contributors to our campaign and am energized to see enthusiasm and interest growing each day, evidenced by our increased fundraising advantage,” said Qualls.
I’m exceptionally grateful to everyone who helped us raise more than double the amount of Democrat @RepDeanPhillips in the latest fundraising report. We also increased our cash-on-hand lead to nearly $70,000! Thank you! https://t.co/XQZaqM8YET pic.twitter.com/iTAlS2bW3G
— Kendall for Congress (@KendallQuallsMN) July 31, 2020
Phillips is $250,000 in debt from his previous campaign but is still the third-richest member of Congress. In 2018, he loaned his own campaign $1.3 million.
“We don’t have Hollywood donors and Bloomberg’s millions like Dean has at his disposal, so we are continuing our grassroots efforts with tremendous appeal,” Qualls added.
According to a statement from his campaign, Qualls raised an average of more than $8,000 each day in comparison to Phillips’ daily average of $3,200 during the pre-primary period.
“In spite of Dean pulling out all the stops, including help from Senator and former presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar, the Qualls campaign once again generated more grassroots support than the incumbent,” said Thomas Knecht, Qualls’ campaign manager.
This isn’t the first time Qualls has shown financial strength against Phillips. At the end of the second quarter, Qualls had more cash-on-hand than Phillips and nearly outraised him during that period as well.
“I have no doubt that as the campaign progresses, we will see Dean Phillips spend whatever he feels necessary from his personal fortune to try to stay competitive in the race. Dean Phillips claims he wants money out of politics, unless that money is his own,” Qualls said at the time. “Phillips is simply out of step with the Third District voters he currently represents.”
Judah Torgerud
Judah Torgerud is a freelance journalist working with Alpha News to keep the people informed and bring the truth to light. Contact him at whqnu@nycunarjfza.pbz.
