Kelly continues to dominate McSally in U.S. Senate race fundraising

Presumptive Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Mark Kelly continues to be a fundraising juggernaut, raising more than incumbent Republican Sen. Martha McSally for the third straight quarter and bringing his total raised to almost $14 million.

Kelly’s campaign announced Monday that the retired NASA astronaut and former U.S. Navy fighter pilot had raised more than $5.5 million in the third quarter of the year. After accounting for the campaign’s spending, Kelly has roughly $9.5 million in cash on hand.

His opponent, McSally, raised $3 million during the third quarter. Overall, she has raised about $8.5 million and has $5.6 million remaining, though $1 million of that was left over from her 2018 campaign.

While representing a Tucson district in the U.S. House, McSally earned a reputation as a prodigious fundraiser, raising millions of dollars more than both her opponents and other members of the Arizona delegation. 

McSally was appointed to the Senate in January to fill the seat that the late John McCain was elected to in 2014. McSally replaced Jon Kyl, who temporarily filled the seat after McCain’s death in August 2018.

Gov. Doug Ducey named McSally to the post after voters narrowly rejected her as a senator, instead choosing Democrat Kyrsten Sinema. During the 2018 campaign, McSally raised nearly $22 million.