CQ Politics: Paulsen, Madia among biggest money-raisers for open House seats

CQ Politics crunched the latest financial filings by candidates for Congress and put Minnesota state Rep. Erik Paulsen, with $2.2 raised so far in his campaign (as of Sept. 30), at No. 7 in the country for most cash raised among candidates for open House seats. His DFL rival, Ashwin Madia, is at No. 12 nationally, with $2.1 million in total receipts.

At the end of September, Paulsen’s campaign bank account had $1.1 to Madia’s $995,000 — putting the two 3rd Congressional District contenders in second and third place, respectively, for most cash-on-hand among open-seat contenders, behind only Democrat John Adler in New Jersey’s 3rd District.

The third candidate running to succeed retiring U.S. Rep. Jim Ramstad, David Dillon of the Independence Party, is far behind Paulsen and Madia in fundraising, but has his own claim to fame: He’s in the top 10 nationally among congressional candidates for the proportion of his campaign war chest that is self-funded.

CQ Politics rates the Minnesota race “No Clear Favorite.”