West Virginia: McKinley Is Best-Funded Mollohan Foe

A source close to McKinley’s campaign said that McKinley raised nearly $300,000 in the first three months of this year, with the vast majority coming from more than 500 individual donors, and began April with about $275,000 in the bank.

It was not immediately clear how much additional personal money McKinley, a professional engineer and former state GOP chairman, put into his campaign in this year’s first quarter to augment the $100,000 he gave his campaign in late 2009.

McKinley will face well-funded opposition in the May 11 primary from Sarah Minear, a former state senator who reported to the Federal Election Commission that she raised $272,000 in the first quarter, of which $252,000 came in the form of personal loans Minear made to her own campaign. She raised the other $20,000 from individual donors.

Minear spent $140,000 in the first quarter and began April with $131,000 left to spend.

The campaign of businessman Mac Warner (R) declined to reveal its first-quarter figures on the grounds that it was still tallying some payments made in March. Warner raised $43,000 in late 2009 and said in late February that it passed $100,000 in overall receipts.

Three lesser-known Republicans also are seeking the nomination.

Mollohan, who’s seeking a 15th term, has never been a strong fundraiser early in election cycles, but he is expected to have a good first-quarter report after holding a slew of fundraisers in late March. State Sen. Mike Oliverio, who is challenging Mollohan in the primary, must also reveal first-quarter campaign fundraising figures by the April 15 deadline.

West Virginia’s 1st district includes the northern third of the state, taking in the cities of Morgantown, Parkersburg and Wheeling.

CQ Politics presently rates the West Virginia as Likely Democratic. Ratings are subject to change.
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