Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-Ringoes) edged out State Sen. Minority Leader Tom Kean (R-Westfield) in fundraising during the second quarter, bringing in Roughly $1.7 million to the challenger’s $1.2 million, according to quarterly reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.
The first-term Democrat brought in about $1.5 million in individual contributions during the quarter. He received $131,351 in transfers from other political committees. He transferred $32,827.02 from his primary campaign account and had about $1.6 million left in his war chest at the end of September.
The Republican challenger received $995,401.52 in individual contributions and $188,429.68 from political committees. He transferred $31,807.93 from his primary account and had $975,475.11 banked at the end of the third quarter.
Though the two candidates’ fundraising wasn’t leagues apart, Malinowski spent more than twice as much as his challenger between the start of July and the end of October. He spent about $3.4 million over the three-month period, while Kean expended $1.5 million.
The above fundraising totals do not include independent expenditures made for or against either candidate, nor do they include spending by candidates’ political action committees.
Kean is running to take back a district Republicans held for nearly two decades before Malinowski ousted Rep. Leonard Lance in 2018.
The district has 9,589 more Democrats than Republicans. When the incumbent defeated Lance, Republicans had a 6,709 registration edge.