Former Republican state Rep. Allen Quist is largely self-funding his Congressional campaign, loaning or donating to his own campaign most of the $243,160 in contributions he's reported so far.

Through the end of June, outside donors have contributed less than 10 percent of his total fundraising haul. But Quist still has more resources than his primary opponent, state Sen. Mike Parry.

Allen Quist generated $178,230 in the second quarter of 2012, and had more than $165,000 in the bank at the end of June. Parry has $36,400 banked after raising almost $52,000 during the months of April, May and June.

Quist and Parry will face off in next month's Republican primary with the winner advancing to take on Democratic U.S. Rep. Tim Walz in November for the right to represent the First District, which covers southern Minnesota.

Walz has more than $800,000 stored away for his re-election bid after raising more than $237,000 during the second quarter.

National Democrats have also pledged to back Walz's campaign. The three-term incumbent is part of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's "Frontline" program, which lends support to vulnerable incumbents. In 2010, the committee spent a quarter million dollars to help Walz retain his seat in Congress.

The National Republican Congressional Committee poured significant resources into the race in 2010, spending more than half a million dollars in an effort to unseat Walz. But, as Quist and Parry continue to slug it out, support for this year's crop of Republicans has yet to materialize. Neither candidate secured enough votes to win the party endorsement during the First District Republican convention in April.

As the primary nears, Quist plans to ramp up his fundraising efforts with help from U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann. A longtime Quist associate, Bachmann plans to speak at two of his campaign fundraisers next week in Rochester. Quist is also spending $100,000 on television advertising in southern Minnesota prior to the August primary.

The former state representative made a play for the Republican endorsement to run against Walz in 2010, but dropped out of the race when party leaders endorsed former state Rep. Randy Demmer.