Minnesota’s six Republican gubernatorial candidates together out-raised DFL Gov. Mark Dayton’s campaign in 2014’s first three months. However, Dayton is still on a bigger pile of cash than his opponents combined.
Here’s how the newly reported first quarter 2014 numbers break down:
Dayton raised $189,000, and has $733,114 cash on hand and unpaid bills of $1,700.
Collectively, gubernatorial Republicans raised $493,700 and have $462,180 in unpsent cash.
Businessman Scott Honour's campaign out-raised Dayton, receiving $236,075, including $50,000 Honour loaned to the campaign. Honour's cash on hand is $13,693 more than the loan, or $63,693.
Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson and former state Rep. Marty Seifert are nearly tied with each other in retained cash — Seifert leads the GOP field with $141,700, while Johnson has $139,000. Seifert raised $64,127 during the quarter while Johnson raised $32,000.
State Rep. Kurt Zellers took in $91,407, including a $20,000 personal loan. His campaign has $79,777 cash on hand.
State Sen. Dave Thompson’s campaign took in $66,889, with $37,695 cash on hand and unpaid bills of $27,000.
Hibbing teacher Rob Farnsworth raised $3,335, including a $500 personal loan, with cash on hand of $315.
Also of note: the Dayton campaign still has on its books $3.9 million in loans that Dayton made to the campaign during his successful 2010 gubernatorial campaign.