Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle increased his fundraising advantage over Secretary of State Brian Kemp in the GOP race for governor, more than doubling his opponent's campaign cash haul over the last three months.
Cagle raised more than $3.7 million during the latest fundraising period, and reported on Monday that he had roughly $1.3 million left in his campaign account for the July 24 GOP runoff. His total take since entering the race last year is $10.5 million.
Kemp took in about $1.6 million between April 1 and June 30, and reported around $700,000 left in the bank. He’s raised a total of about $4.5 million, less than half of Cagle’s overall take.
Recent polls show the two rivals in a tight race for the right to face Democrat Stacey Abrams in November. Cagle has been hampered by a secretly-taped conversation with a vanquished opponent, while Kemp faces questions about whether he accepted improper donations.
The front-runner since he jumped in the race, Cagle has long had a dominating fundraising edge over Kemp and other GOP candidates during the primary. He's a favorite of the Capitol crowd, which has showered him with hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations.
Still, Kemp has raised enough cash to stay competitive. He’s reserved about $1 million in airtime across the state, and plans to soon unleash a new wave of ads targeting his opponent.
Abrams has taken advantage of the nine-week GOP fight. She’s raised roughly $2.75 million since April, and reported roughly $1.6 million left in her campaign’s account. That’s nearly double the amount of cash-on-hand she reported three months ago.
The race for Georgia governor is set to smash fundraising records. All told, the candidates have either raised or loaned themselves at least $30 million.
Cagle’s fundraising quarter:
Total contributions this period: $3,723,255.82
Total contributions to date: $10,513,571.14
Cash on hand: $1,348,781.08
Kemp’s fundraising quarter:
Total contributions this period: $1,597,258.44
Total contributions to date: $4,517,367.18
Cash on hand: $711,388.17
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