HELENA — Friday was the deadline for most Congressional candidates to report how much money they collected in the first three months of 2022. The data for Montana’s two Congressional districts shows two prominent Republicans have brought in the most.
In Montana’s 1st Congressional District – the western part of the state – former U.S. Representative and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke raised $1,108,801 in the first quarter. That brought his total to $2,484,819 over the last year. Zinke had $1,212,498 in “cash on hand” – money available in his campaign account at the start of April.
Zinke significantly led his rivals in the Republican primary. Former state Sen. Al Olszewski of Kalispell reported raising $264,401 from January to March, including $175,000 of his own money. He’s brought in $677,963 since the start of the campaign and had $364,795 in cash on hand.
Mary Todd, a Kalispell businesswoman and pastor, brought in $53,610, including $15,700 of her own money. Overall, she’s raised $167,779 and had $107,011 remaining in her campaign account.
The top Democratic fundraiser in the 1st District has been health-policy expert Cora Neumann of Bozeman. She collected $401,257 from January to March, bringing her total to $1,172,109. She is the third Montana candidate to raise more than $1 million, and she had $877,958 cash on hand at the start of April.
Missoula attorney Monica Tranel raised $254,682 in the first quarter and $675,152 overall. She had $266,160 on hand.
Tom Winter, a former Democratic state representative from Missoula, brought in about $42,368 for the quarter, bringing his total to $94,918. He had $16,035 left in his account.
In the 2nd Congressional District – central and eastern Montana – incumbent Republican Rep. Matt Rosendale reported $310,917 in donations in the first quarter of 2022, in addition to $1,057,911 in 2021. He had $1,036,146 available at the end of the quarter.
On the Democratic side, state Sen. Mark Sweeney of Anaconda – running in the eastern district – raised $82,488 since launching his campaign in February. He had $55,113 in cash on hand.
Penny Ronning, a former Billings city councilmember, raised $24,168 in the first quarter, bringing her total to $39,021. She had $11,809 in cash on hand.
In addition, Gary Buchanan, a financial advisor from Billings, is trying to collect signatures to get on the 2nd District ballot as an independent candidate. He reported raising $40,573 in the first quarter, including $25,000 of his own money. He had $37,734 on hand at the start of April.
Candidates who raised less than $5,000 in the first quarter did not have to file a report. Four Republican candidates – Mitch Heuer in the 1st District and Kyle Austin, James Boyette and Charles Walking Child in the 2nd District – have reported raising less than that amount, as has Democratic candidate Skylar Williams in the 2nd District.
Another Republican candidate running in the 1st District, Matt Jette, did not have first-quarter fundraising information available as of Monday.
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