U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann raised $679,522 in the first quarter of 2013 and has nearly $1.9 million banked for her congressional re-election campaign, the most of any Minnesota House member.
But Bachmann's fundraising total for the first three months of this election cycle pale in comparison to the start of the last cycle, when she raised more than $1.7 million in the first 90 days of 2011 as she geared up for her failed presidential campaign.
Bachmann also has $128,000 in remaining debt from the last election cycle.
Bachmann's opponent, Democratic businessman Jim Graves, is starting out the race at a financial disadvantage, having raised just $1,968 in the first quarter of year.
After losing to the four-term Republican by less than 5,000 votes in November, Graves on Thursday announced his intent to challenge her again.
Graves, a multi-millionaire hotelier, has $25,590 cash on hand and $261,000 in debt from his 2012 campaign, which he largely self-funded. He has not made a decision on self-funding for 2014, but by announcing his candidacy this early in the election cycle he hopes to attract more grassroots donors, his campaign manager said.
