GOP challenger to Wisconsin’s Obey raises $140,000

Rep. Dave Obey

Sean Duffy, the leading Republican candidate challenging Rep. David Obey (D-Wis.), will report a fundraising total of $140,000, with $120,000 cash on hand, for the third quarter of 2009. I talked with the candidate today, keying off NRCC Chairman and Rep. Pete Sessions’s (R-Texas) prediction that Obey — who is seeking a 21st term in 2010 — would face a “tier one” challenge.

“I’ve got more $5 and $10 checks than you can shake a stick at,” said Duffy.

In 2008, Obey raised $1.6 million and handily defeated GOP candidate Dan Mielke, who raised only $92,501. The news that Duffy has already out-paced the party’s last Obey challenger is going to keep this race in the party’s sights — if a backlash to the economic stimulus package could strike anyone, it would be the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.