By Corey Mitchell
Updated
Republican congressional candidate Tom Emmer has reported raising $220,000 for his bid to win the seat of U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann.
Emmer, a 2010 gubernatorial candidate and former state House member, is among four candidates vying to replace Bachmann, who announced in late May that she would not seek re-election next year.
Emmer announced his candidacy for the seat on June 5.
"I am humbled by the outpouring of support and generosity from across the district, from Lino Lakes to Ramsey to St. Cloud," Emmer said in a statement.
Sixth District Republican Anoka County Commission Chairwoman Rhonda Sivarajah, and DFL candidate Judy Adams, an environmental activist from Circle Pines, have yet to release their fundraising reports.
State Sen. John Pederson of St. Cloud, who will hold a campaign kick-off on Thursday, said that he has not focused on fundraising in his first two weeks in the race and had, as of his last update, about $35,000 in the bank. He said he is not concerned that Emmer posted a much bigger number.
"He's going to have an advantage. He's run a statewide race," Pederson said of Emmer. But, he added, "slow and steady wins the race."
Pederson said that as a St. Cloud Republican, he's "won four elections in the last six years in a very difficult district for Republicans," proof, he said, that he can win independent and conservative Democratic votes as well as Republican ones.
Next week, the Federal Election Commission will release campaign finance records for all congressional candidates covering the months of April, May and June.
