Photo: Boorman818, Flickr

Photo: Boorman818, Flickr

Former Vice President Walter Mondale sent out a fundraising appeal Tuesday on behalf of 6th Congressional District challenger Tarryl Clark. An additional money pitch was dispatched by Patty Wetterling, who unsuccessfully ran against Michele Bachmann for an open House seat in 2006.

The appeals come as the third-quarter fundraising deadline looms on Wednesday, the first since Clark announced that she’s running against Bachmann. The Democratic state senator will undoubtedly want to report an impressive fundraising total in order to put national groups, including the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, on notice that she intends to run a viable campaign. Clark’s only challenger for the DFL endorsement, Maureen Reed, brought in more than $230,000 during the second quarter of 2009.

Bachmann’s hoping for a strong financial showing by Wednesday’s filing deadline, too. She sent out a fundraising appeal of her own on Tuesday, noting that she’s among eight Republicans targeted by the Democrats in 2010.

“I must show a solid bank account to keep the Democrats from pouring millions into my opponents’ campaigns,” she wrote. “They’ve spent millions here before, and right now they’re gearing up to do it again!”