[private]
U.S. Rep. John Barrow entered the home stretch of the 12th Congressional District race with roughly 12 times as much available campaign cash as his Republican challenger, Augusta contractor Rick Allen.
Barrow raised $682,979 in contributions during the third quarter and spent $1.05 million, mostly on a heavy blitz of TV ads, but still had just over $1.5 million cash on hand as of Sept. 30, according to reports filed this week with the Federal Election Commission.
Allen’s FEC report shows that he raised $508,655 during the quarter, a total that included a $175,000 personal loan, and spent $615,984, leaving him with $118,237 cash-on-hand for the final five weeks of the campaign.
Barrow has raised a total of $3.03 million during this election cycle, all of it in outside contributions. Allen has self-funded a significant portion of his campaign – his FEC report indicates he has raised more than $1.72 million overall, an amount that includes $1,147,930 in contributions and $570,000 in candidate loans.
Allen’s campaign is carrying a total of $1 million in debts and loans, according to the FEC report.
Despite the financial advantage for Barrow, the 12th District race could end up being one of the closest in the country because of the Republican lean of the district (Mitt Romney carried it by a margin of 12 points in the 2012 presidential election).
Barrow and Allen are caught up in the only competitive congressional race in Georgia this year.
© 2014 by The Georgia Report
[/private]