Elizabeth Warren Gaining Fundraising Momentum in Massachusetts

Elizabeth Warren, whose campaign to unseat incumbent Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown, has made national headlines, is winning the fundraising battle in the race so far this year. In the first three months of 2012, Warren has raised $6.9 million, compared with $3.4 million for Scott Brown. Overall, Brown still has $4 million more than Warren, with $15 million, compared with her $11 million.

The Warren camp is emphasizing the grassroots appeal of the campaign; more than 80 percent of donors gave less than $50, the campaign said.

"The incredible enthusiasm we have seen from people across the commonwealth who are contributing to this campaign shows the strong grassroots momentum behind Elizabeth's fight for middle class families," the Warren campaign said in a statement.

* * *

Huffington Post: Elizabeth Warren Outpaces Scott Brown's Massachusetts Fundraising

The Elizabeth Warren campaign announced today that, in the last quarter, it raised an eye-popping $2.5 million dollar haul in Massachusetts -- outpacing rival Scott Brown's latest Massachusetts numbers by almost one million dollars.

This is an enormous feat for a challenger running against an incumbent, especially one as thoroughly beloved by big business lobbyists in Boston and hedge-fund fat cats (and yes, there are plenty of them with Massachusetts addresses -- they don't all live in New York) as this guy is. Keep in mind as well that given Brown's incredibly close ties to Mitt Romney, it is certain he has access to all of Romney's Massachusetts donors.

It is a strong sign of momentum for Warren. While Warren considerably outpaced Brown the last two quarters overall, she had not yet outpaced his Massachusetts fundraising -- something Brown has spent considerable amounts of time bragging about even though he has been a politician for many years and is running against someone who had never run for office before

This is a pattern of deflating end-of-quarter days for Brown, who has seen his fundraising advantage and war chest recede over time. It will be interesting to see his campaign respond to the latest developments.

* * *

The Boston Globe; Warren doubles Brown's quarterly fund-raising tally

[T]he latest numbers show that the likely Democratic challenger has continued to close that gap with surprising speed.

Warren has excited the Democratic base around the country, with her fiery defense of liberal economic policy. The majority of her contributions have come from out of state both this quarter and in previous quarters. Her campaign said that 83 percent of the donations were $50 or less.

Last week campaign officials announced that Warren collected $2.5 million in state during the first quarter of this year, which they have said is probably more than Brown has raised in Massachusetts.

"The incredible enthusiasm we have seen from people across the Commonwealth who are contributing to this campaign shows the strong grassroots momentum behind Elizabeth's fight for middle class families," said Warren campaign manager Mindy Myers.

Brown's campaign today shot back, criticizing Warren for her out-of-state contributions.

"Professor Warren's fundraising continues to be mostly out-of-state money from extremely liberal donors and special interests that are trying to influence the Massachusetts election," said spokesman Colin Reed.

Brown has said about 71 percent of his contributions came from donors within Massachusetts. But he has not said how much money that represents.

* * *

The Nation: Elizabeth Warren's Massachusetts

# # #