Quayle leads in cash

U.S. Rep. Ben Quayle maintained his fundraising edge over his main rival and every other House candidate in Arizona during the second quarter of the year, according to recently released campaign-finance reports.

Quayle brought in more than $530,000 from April 1 to June 30, the most recent reporting period, nearly doubling the total brought in by his main competitor, U.S. Rep. David Schweikert, who raised nearly $275,000 in the same time span.

Schweikert and Quayle, who participated in an online debate Monday evening, are both incumbents who will face off in the Republican primary next month to determine who will run in the general election to represent the newly drawn 6th Congressional District, which encompasses the northeast Valley.

Quayle, son of former Vice President Dan Quayle, decided to vacate his seat in the 9th Congressional District to take on Schweikert in the solidly Republican 6th District, which includes many of Quayle's current constituents.

Schweikert's spokesman, Chris Baker, said that the freshman congressman has exceeded his fundraising expectations and that some of Quayle's financial support could be misleading.

"Unlike our opponent, we do not actively solicit general-election donations to boost our totals," Baker said. "David's fundraising has always been the same: He does extremely well in Arizona from supporters and continues to do so."

Sunday was the deadline for congressional candidates to file quarterly campaign-finance reports with the Federal Election Commission.

In the race to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., Democrat Richard Carmona, a former U.S. surgeon general, raised $1.1 million and had $1.6million on hand at the end of June. U.S. Rep. Jeff Flake, considered the Republican front-runner, raised $908,296 and had $2.6 million on hand. Self-funding Republican contender Wil Cardon raised only $95,768 in contributions but put in an additional $3.2 million of his own money. Cardon, a wealthy Mesa investor, through June had loaned his campaign a total of nearly $7.5 million.

The contest to represent the Republican Party in the state's new 4th District has transformed from an election with broad interest into virtually a two-person race, with donations heavily favoring U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar, based on the most recent campaign filings.

Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu dropped out of the race in May after a scandal erupted involving allegations he threatened a former boyfriend with deportation, destroyed public records and misused official resources. Babeu brought in more than $29,000 before he dropped out of the race. He refunded all but $1,500 of that before the reporting period ended, according to the federal documents.

Gosar brought in more than $180,000 last quarter, compared with about $72,000 for his main GOP opponent, Sen. Ron Gould. Compared with Gould's performance in the first quarter, when donors contributed less than $19,000, the most recent report represents a windfall.

But Gosar's spokesman questioned whether Gould, a small-business owner who was elected to the Arizona Senate in fall 2004, has a message that resonates with voters in the far-flung district, which includes most of western Arizona, from the Utah line to Yuma, most of Yavapai County and northern Pinal County.

A spokesman for Gould's campaign said the state senator promised to run a competitive race, whether Gould relied on donations or his own money. Gould has lent his campaign more than $90,000 so far.

Personal loans have also become an issue in the crowded race to fill the seat in District 9, which runs from Chandler through north-central Phoenix, where a pair of Republican candidates -- businessman Travis Grantham and former Chandler Councilman Martin Sepulveda -- have relied on loans to fund the bulk of their campaigns.

Paradise Valley Town Councilman Vernon Parker led GOP candidates in District 9, with more than $135,000 coming into his campaign from individual donors in the past quarter.

Democrats have far outpaced Republicans in fundraising in the crowded District 9 race, with former state Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Phoenix surpassing Andrei Cherny, former chairman of the Arizona Democratic Party, in second-quarter donations. Sinema brought in more than $365,000 in the reporting period, compared with about $300,000 for Cherny, who maintains the overall fundraising lead in the race based on a strong first quarter.

Rodd McLeod, Sinema's campaign manager, said the number of individual contributors to Sinema's campaign showed the depth of her support. "We've got over 3,800 individual contributors. There are a lot of people who are behind her," McLeod said.

In other races:

Ann Kirkpatrick, a Democrat, and Jonathan Paton, a Republican, continued to dominate the fundraising in District 1, with Kirkpatrick receiving more than $358,000 in the quarter and Paton bringing in about $345,000.

U.S. Rep. Ron Barber, who won a special election last month to serve out the term of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, brought in more than his nearest competitor in the District 2 race. Barber, a Democrat, received more than $330,000 in the reporting period, while Republican Martha McSally, a retired Air Force pilot, raised nearly $270,000.

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