Bentivolio’s primary challenger tops $1M raised

Businessman Dave Trott (R) has raised more than $1 million in the last four months for his primary against Rep. Kerry Bentivolio (R-Mich.), his campaign announced Thursday evening.

{mosads}Trott has been hauling in cash against Bentivolio, a freshman nicknamed the “accidental congressman” after former Rep. Thad McCotter (R-Mich.) failed to qualify for the ballot in the district and handed him a primary win in 2012.

That impressive total includes more than $500,000 in the last fundraising quarter, which began in October. Trott now has $700,000 in the bank for the primary.

Trott’s campaign didn’t say whether the wealthy businessman had donated any of his own money to the campaign.

Bentivolio has yet to announce his fundraising totals for the fourth quarter, which he has to report by Friday to the Federal Election Commission. As of the end of September he had less than $40,000 in the bank for the race, and owed more than $110,000 in debt.