Republican challenger Richard Tisei raised nearly twice as much money as incumbent Congressman John Tierney during the final quarter of 2011.
According to campaign finance reports made public Tuesday, Tisei raised about $301,500 from Oct. 1 through the end of last year. Tierney raised about $160,000 during that time. Despite the fundraising discrepancy, however, Tierney still has more cash on hand ($545,616) than Tisei ($256,394), thanks to a larger beginning balance.
Tisei, a former state senator who made a failed run at lieutenant governor in 2010, is widely seen as one of the more formidable candidates to challenge Tierney in recent years. Tierney, a Salem Democrat, has represented the 6th District, which includes most of Essex County, since 1997.
Despite being out-raised by his challenger last quarter, Tierney's camp remained confident they wouldn't be hurting for cash in the run-up to the November election.
"John continues to receive widespread support from across the district and will have the resources necessary to run and win in November," said Kathryn Prael, a Tierney spokeswoman. "He remains committed to meeting with local families across our community and continuing his efforts to create jobs and revive our economy."
Tisei's early fundraising success aside, he may have received a bigger gift last month when Boxford lawyer Bill Hudak, a Republican, dropped out of the race. That means Tisei won't have to worry about a primary fight and can keep his energy and money focused squarely on Tierney.
In a statement yesterday, Tisei criticized Tierney for the amount of donations he received from politicians and political action committees. According to the filings, Tierney received about $89,000 of his donations last quarter from political committees and about $71,000 from individuals. Tisei, on the other hand, raised nearly all of his $301,000 from individuals, taking in only $600 from political committees.
"John Tierney has been entrenched in Washington for a long, long time. That's why most of his financial support is coming from his friends there and not from Massachusetts. This is just one more sign that it's time for him to retire," Tisei said in a statement. "Too bad for John Tierney that Washington lobbyists don't get to vote in our congressional elections."
Tierney's camp said that the bulk of the congressman's support over the years has come from individuals and pointed out that more than half of Tierney's total contributions last year (57 percent) came from individuals.
"During the last cycle, John received contributions from thousands of individuals across our communities, as well as PAC contributions from teachers, workers, firefighters, and men and women fighting to protect Social Security and Medicare," Prael said. "This is a hypocritical attack from a lifelong politician who has himself taken PAC contributions throughout his decades in office."
Although the campaign has yet to kick into full gear, records show that Tierney spent about $56,500 last quarter, while Tisei spent $51,500.
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