A year out, bank balances swell for federal candidates

Raise now, spend later.

That could be the mantra for candidates for the U.S. House and Senate, who are hard at work building up campaign accounts that will be essential once the 2018 election season kicks into a higher gear.

The federal candidates had to submit reports by a weekend deadline detailing the most recent three months of fundraising activity.

Here's a rundown of where the federal candidates are at as of Oct. 1, based on reports filed with federal regulators or disclosures by the campaign. The reports covered activity from July 1 to Sept. 30, with some of those candidates adding to stockpiles they had coming in.

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U.S. Senate: DFL incumbent Amy Klobuchar raised about $1.19 million, has $4.95 million in reserve. Republican challenger Jim Newberger entered the race eight weeks ago and said he had taken in about $23,000.

1st District: No incumbent in the race. Among a crowded field of DFL candidates, former Assistant Secretary of Defense Dan Feehan raised about a quarter million and finished the quarter with just shy of $200,000. The cash balance put him ahead of Joe Sullivan (nearly $125,000), attorney Rich Wright ($98,117), former state Sen. Vicki Jensen ($7,305) and three others who had yet to report recent totals. On the Republican side, businessman Jim Hagedorn raised roughly $102,000 and had about $237,000 left to spend. State Sen. Carla Nelson entered the race after the last financial reporting deadline.

2nd District: GOP incumbent Jason Lewis raised $235,000 and had about $583,000 in available cash. Lewis's 2016 DFL challenger, business executive Angie Craig didn't report any fundraising after announcing a new run in July and has $200,000 remaining on a personal loan from her last run. Teacher Jeff Erdmann took in about $41,000 and has $7,400 remaining.

3rd District: GOP incumbent Erik Paulsen pulled in about $420,000 and has $1.24 million at the ready. Businessman Dean Phillips raised $268,000 and is at about $500,000 cash on hand. Tonka Bay city council member Adam Jennings accumulated $245,000, though most was from a personal loan, and has $214,000 available. Two other DFLers with registered campaign accounts were far back.

4th District: DFL incumbent Betty McCollum raised roughly $96,000 and has $143,000 in reserve. No announced GOP challenger.

5th District: DFL incumbent Keith Ellison raised $325,000 and still has $456,000. No announced challenger.

6th District: GOP incumbent Tom Emmer raised $233,000 and has $484,000 in his account. DFLer Ian Todd had $77 in his account.

7th District: DFL incumbent Collin Peterson collected $188,000 and just shy of $926,000 in accessible cash. Former Air Force officer and 2016 Republican nominee David Hughes raised just less than $5,000 and had $32,000 in reserve. A report for the recent filing period wasn't available midday Monday for Republican state Rep. Tim Miller of Prinsburg.

8th District: DFL incumbent Rick Nolan raised about $120,500 and had about $446,000 available to spend. St. Louis County Commissioner Pete Stauber reported about $136,000 raised and $117,000 left after expenses.