Contributions already piling up in anticipated CD2 rematch

Rep. Ron Barber is sitting on almost a $1 million campaign war chest in his race for a second term in Congressional District 2.

His biggest rival, Republican Martha McSally, has roughly $548,000 in her campaign coffers. She lost to Barber in 2012 by just 2,454 votes.

The retired Air Force colonel is gaining ground on the fundraising side, collecting $70,000 more than Barber in the last three months of 2013, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.

Republican Shelley Kais is a distant third in fundraising, collecting $15,700 in the last quarter of 2013.

Republican Chuck Wooten, who got into the race last month, has not filed paperwork with the FEC.

McSally played up the amount her campaign team raised in the last three months of 2013, calling the $322,585 she brought in as a sign of growing momentum for her candidacy.

She also outspent Barber in the third quarter, spending a $162,000 on staffing, consultants and fundraising fees. During the same period, Barber spent $80,000.

McSally said she has to spend more to get her message out, noting she was recently a target of an attack ad from a super PAC associated with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

Barber’s campaign manager, Kyle Quinn-Quesada, said the $250,000 Barber raised in the last quarter of 2013 is indicative of deep support in the community.

“People here support Ron because everyone knows Ron is Southern Arizona through and through,” said Quinn-Quesada.

The average campaign donation during the last three-month period, according to the FEC, was $1,100 for McSally, while the average donation for Barber was nearly $600.

Money — the mother’s milk of politics — is expected to play an enormous role in the CD2 race, with both the National Republican Congressional Committee and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee calling the district highly competitive.

The 2012 special election to replace Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and the subsequent regular election between Barber and McSally brought in a total of $4.22 million in campaign donations to the two candidates and roughly another $3 million in spending from outside political groups, FEC records show.

Outside political groups have already begun to spend money in the CD2 race.

Americans for Prosperity, a nonprofit group funded by conservatives David and Charles Koch, pledged to spend up to $650,000 on video ads attacking Barber as well as Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick over their support of the Affordable Care Act.

The House Majority PAC, a super PAC associated with Pelosi, quickly countered with its own ad last month, spending $94,719 on ads criticizing McSally’s ties to the billionaire Koch brothers.

While outside political groups are forbidden to coordinate with candidates, Daniel Scarpinato with the National Republican Congressional Committee said Republicans are paying close attention to CD2.

He said Barber will remain a target for Republicans this year for his continued support for Obamacare.

“Ron Barber is one of the most vulnerable congressmen this election cycle — he may even be the most vulnerable in the entire country,” said Scarpinato.

CD2 spending

Source: Federal Election Commission

Arizona Congressional District 2 candidate contributions, October 2013 to December 2013