Ricketts leads funding race

 No comments  
 E-mail Story
 Print Story
  Share

 digg it!
 Facebook
 del.icio.us
Seed Newsvine
Fark It
Reddit

Text Size: 

Tools Sponsor

By SCOTT BAUER / The Associated Press

Businessman Pete Ricketts is widening the financial lead over his two Republican opponents in the U.S. Senate race by contributing $1.5 million of his own money in advance of the May primary election.

Ricketts announced Monday he had loaned his account another $500,000, adding to the $935,000 he chipped in last year.

His challengers lagged behind, based on reports filed with the Federal Election Commission covering activity through the end of 2005.

[+]Enlarge

Ricketts

Ricketts

David Kramer, former Nebraska Republican Party chairman, raised $330,172 last year and had $142,144 cash on hand, according to the FEC filings.

Former state attorney general Don Stenberg, mounting his third campaign for the Senate, reported raising $246,355 last year. He had just $34,487 cash on hand.

Both the Stenberg and Kramer campaigns said they were on the right path.

Stenberg’s contributions are on track with his 2000 campaign in which he was outspent by two opponents by more than six-to-one, said his campaign manager Holley Hatt. She said the money, which came from 2,861 contributors in 75 counties, showed widespread, grassroots support for Stenberg.

Kramer’s money came from more than 600 contributors in 39 counties.

In addition to his own money, Ricketts raised $484,502 last year, according to his FEC report. He had $210,768 cash on hand, higher than both his opponents.

Incumbent Sen. Ben Nelson, a Democrat, had not filed his report on Monday. In the previous report, covering through September, he had $2.7 million cash on hand. Nelson’s latest report was to be filed on Tuesday, which is the deadline, according to his spokesman David DiMartino.

Nelson is widely expected to run, although he has not formally announced his intentions. There are no announced Democratic candidates.

Ricketts has not said how much money he will spend on the campaign to challenge Nelson, other than to say he is willing to invest in the race. Ricketts, who last year stepped down as Ameritrade’s chief operating officer, has said he is worth $25 million.

Senate races have traditionally been an expensive proposition.

Nelson and Stenberg combined to spend $4.5 million in their 2000 race, which was won by Nelson.

In Nebraska’s 1988 Senate race, Bob Kerrey, a Democrat and former governor, defeated Republican U.S. Sen. David Karnes in a race where the candidates spent a combined $7 million.

That would be equal to an estimated $11.48 million today based on the Consumer Price Index, which gauges the price of goods and services bought by the public.