Sharice Davids didn’t raise more money than the men out front.
But in one quarter she came close.
The Shawnee attorney, seeking to become the first Native American woman elected to Congress, made a big fundraising push last quarter in her campaign for the Democratic nomination in the 3rd Congressional District. She joined the race in February.
Davids reported raising $171,191 during the last quarter that ended June 30. She raised about $110,000 through the online fundraising platform, ActBlue, which allows Democratic candidates to raise large volumes of cash in small amounts.
She raised almost as much as Bonner Springs labor lawyer Brent Welder and Prairie Village teacher Tom Niermann, but has only been in the race about half the time.
Welder and Niermann, who have been campaigning for about a year, lead the six-candidate Democratic field in fundraising by overwhelming margins. But Davids has come on strong since announcing her candidacy in February, raising nearly $300,000 in less than less than six months.
Welder reported raising $178,707 in the second quarter, bringing his overall total to $617,934 for the campaign not counting a $55,000 loan to the campaign. Niermann took in $174,154 in the second quarter, according to the latest campaign finance reports. He has now amassed $697,000 for the campaign.
Davids, meanwhile, has raised $298,000 in just the five months she’s been in the race.
She has far less in the bank than Welder and Nierman – only $145,724 to Welder’s $399,002 and Niermann’s $385,248.
However, the EMILY’s List affiliated super PAC – Women Vote! – put Davids more on equal footing when it poured $367,000 into the race for an independent expenditure that’s going for a television ad buy that started last week.
Republican Congressman Kevin Yoder outdistanced everyone, rolling up $441,653. He has now raised $2.7 million this cycle. He had about $1.8 million on hand as of June 30.
The other Democratic candidates didn’t enjoy as fruitful of a second quarter as the other three leading the pack.
Leawood business executive Sylvia Williams reported raising $34,689 last quarter. She’s raised $53,339 for the campaign. Williams has $232,775 on hand but she put $258,000 in loans into the campaign.
High-tech executive Mike McCamon raised $14,164 last quarter and has brought in $28,859. He has $137,000 still on hand but his campaign has been buoyed by a $138,000 loan he made to the campaign.
Jay Sidie, the 3rd District Democratic nominee from 2016, raised $3,224 in the last quarter. He’s taken in $39,679 for the campaign. He had $6,933 on hand at the end of the latest reporting period.
