Kirk edges Duckworth in fundraising for Illinois Senate race

Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) slightly outraised his top Democratic challenger, Rep. Tammy Duckworth, during the second fundraising quarter ahead of what’s expected to be one of the nation’s tightest Senate races.

Kirk, a freshman senator, brought in $1.35 million in donations for the second fundraising quarter of 2015, a campaign aide told The Hill. He also has $3.2 million in cash on hand, the aide added.

{mosads}Duckworth (D-Ill.) announced a haul of $1.2 million in a statement on Wednesday. Her campaign said it received donations from more than 12,700 people, with almost 95 percent of the contributions coming in at $100 or less.

Campaigns typically highlight low-dollar donation figures to show a wide base of support.

Duckworth’s team also announced that she has $2.2 million in cash on hand. About $200,000 is from donations that are earmarked for the general election, if she wins the Democratic primary. The remaining $2 million can be used in either the primary or general election.

Her second-quarter haul is almost twice as much as was raised by her leading Democratic primary opponent, Andrea Zopp. But Duckworth had twice as much time to fundraise.

Zopp, the head of the Chicago Urban League, told the Chicago Sun-Times last week that she’s raised $665,000 since she jumped into the race in mid-May. Duckworth announced her candidacy right before the beginning of the fundraising cycle, so she had a full three months to raise money.

Duckworth is the favorite for the Democratic nomination in Illinois, having been endorsed by Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin in June.

Democrats have won Illinois in ever presidential election since 1998, so the party is hoping that the 2016 race can help boost turnout and propel their candidate to victory over Kirk.

But there’s also ample Republican support in the state, as voters just elected a Republican governor in 2014 and picked Kirk for the Senate in 2010.