Bollier raises $3.7 million in second quarter in Kansas Senate race

Kansas state Sen. Barbara Bollier (D) raised $3.7 million in the second quarter for her Senate campaign as Democrats seek to make the contest competitive.

The haul is the largest reported single-quarter fundraising of any candidate in any race in Kansas history. The campaign said in a press release Wednesday that it has over $4 million in cash on hand and that nearly 91 percent of the second-quarter donations were for under $200. Nearly 81 percent of those who gave to the campaign from April-June were first-time donors. 

The second-quarter haul is over $1 million more than the $2.35 million she raised in the first quarter of 2020.

“I am thrilled to see the support and growing momentum around our race from so many people across our great state,” said Bollier. “It’s clear that our goal — to bring reason and decency back to Washington, and to ensure Kansans are represented by someone who will fight for strong public schools, access to affordable health care, and equality for all — is resonating with our communities.”

“We will continue working tirelessly to talk to as many voters as possible, share our vision for the future for Kansas, and win this race in November.”

Bollier, who was a medical doctor before joining the state government, is a former Republican who switched parties in 2018 over disagreements on a slate of issues, particularly LGTBQ rights. 

“My moral compass is saying, ‘I can’t do this anymore,’ and you throw that in with Donald Trump, and just from a moral position, I can’t be complicit anymore,” Bollier said in an interview with NBC News at the time.

Bollier still has to win the Democratic primary in August, but she is perceived as the party’s front-runner and has garnered the endorsement of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Democrats are hoping to make the race to replace outgoing Sen. Pat Roberts (R) competitive. The party already caught a break when Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who used to represent the state in the House of Representatives and would have been the heavy favorite to win the seat, declined to jump into the race.

Several Republicans are running in the GOP primary, with Rep. Roger Marshall (R) drawing some establishment support. Some Republicans have also voiced concerns over Kris Kobach, the former Kansas secretary of state who is known for his hard-line views on immigration and lost the 2018 gubernatorial race to Democrat Laura Kelly.

A Civiqs poll released last month showed Bollier running neck-and-neck with both Marshall and Kobach. Neither Republican has yet released their second quarter numbers.

Still, the race will likely be an uphill climb for Bollier in a conservative state that elected President Trump by over 20 points in 2016. The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan election handicapper, rates the race as “Lean” Republican.

— This report was updated at 9:51 a.m.