(CNN) - Republican Virginia Senate candidate George Allen brought in nearly $1.1 million in fourth quarter fundraising, his campaign announced Tuesday.
The former governor finished the year with $4.5 million in fundraising and more than $2 million cash on hand. Well ahead of the state's party primaries in June, Allen is locked in a heated battle against the Democratic front-runner Tim Kaine, who's also a former governor.
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Allen launched his Senate bid in January, hoping to fill the seat to be vacated when Democratic Sen. Jim Webb retires in 2013.
"I truly believe the 2012 election is our generation's 'rendezvous with destiny' and Virginians are energized and ready to bring change to Washington," Allen said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Kaine's campaign said its numbers for the year's final three months are not yet available. For the third quarter ending in September, Kaine reported $1.3 million in donations, with a total of $3.55 million raised and $2.55 million cash on hand.
Kaine left his post as chair of the Democratic National Committee in April to run for Senate.
According to a Quinnipiac University poll released at the end of December, the two candidates were in a statistical tie, with 44% of voters backing Allen and 42% supporting Kaine. The margin fell within the sampling error.
"Two popular former governors mean Virginia's U.S. Senate race could be a real cliff-hanger," Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said in a statement.
While the two candidates both remain strong front-runners in their respective parties, Allen may soon get a new–and rather well-known–challenger from the right.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported longtime Virginia state lawmaker Bob Marshall, who nearly won the GOP nomination in the state's 2008 Senate race, could throw his hat in the ring.
"I am taking prudent steps that anyone would to be a candidate," he told the paper on Monday when asked if he was petitioning to get his name on the ballot for the June GOP primary.
Both Charlie Cook and Stuart Rothenberg, non partisan political handicappers, rank the 2012 Senate race as a toss-up.
Also see:
Romney pushes back after protesters interrupt rally
Romney, Huntsman tie in midnight New Hampshire vote
From CNN Politics
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Hopefully Allen wins and helps the Republicans take a super majority in the Senate in 2012. I suspect a lot of Democrat seats will be lost just as in 2010. ANd the Democrats STILL won't get the message!!
@Truth – After their repeated attacks on Latinos, Blacks, women, gays, union workers, public servants (police, fire, teachers), the working poor, the minimum wage, child labor laws, the middle class in general, and on and on, you think the GOP is going to have a good result in the 2012 elections. Good luck with that.
I'm voting Kaine over "Macaca" every day of the week.
Republican going to lose alot in 2012 because the middle class will come out strong for the democrat.
Yea,those do nothin repubs TRUTH,that use millionairs money to get to where they get the best shot at screwing the middle class.Dems will be back in power as usual behind Kaine,in the house and senate...
Hey Mikey, you forgot to mention throw grandma over the cliff, kill babies, dogs, cats and hamsters! Yes, it's all out Republican war against all forms of life in this country. hahahaha.....
So will ANY of your stated special interest groups be adversely affected when the Democrats run the entire country into bankruptcy and economic ruin with their massive spending and borrowing?? Of course, ALL OF THEM WILL SUFFER TREMENDOUSLY. But your little scare tactics to convince them the Republicans are the real threat while you destroy everything else around them is quite cute, and very lame.
This is the same "macaca" guy, right? He is still around?
It appears that the Tea Party's strategy is to cry out for change and then vote in the same people who caused the problems.
He will not win. Period.
He's a loser. All the way. Prejudice and hate don't work well in Virginia. That's for Texas, Georgia, and Mississippi.
Racist pig attracts racist pig money. Show us the list, Captain Macaca...let's see who feels the way you do.
"I'm voting Kaine over "Macaca" every day of the week."
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You'd vote for Charlie Manson if he was running as a democrat.
As I mentioned before, (you do the research, I won't do it for you) why are the republicans responsible for the two greatest disasters in this country history (the great depression, the recession) and yet it takes a Democratic president to get us out? Read my prior message to you for the job numbers!!!
Truth wrote:
Hopefully Allen wins and helps the Republicans take a super majority in the Senate in 2012. I suspect a lot of Democrat seats will be lost just as in 2010. ANd the Democrats STILL won't get the message!!
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Still riding that adrenaline high from that sucker punch Republicans pulled in 2010, I see. Well, you need to come down out of the clouds and look at what happened in 2011, and the majority of elections in 2011 turned out. Republicans had ran on jobs creation in 2010, and came out in 2011 with a full fledged war against the middle class, unions, gays, immigrants, minorities, seniors, hungry babies, infrastructure, etc. The Republicans waged all out war against the backbone of this nation.
GOP lose and Obama wins landslide....true.
One wonders why Jim Webb is not running for re-election. Could it be the 15.5 Trillion Dollar Federal Debt? Could in be the 15 precent (Real) unemployment figures? Could it be 46 Million people on Food Stamps? Could it be millions of Morgages under water? What could it be? Maybe straightening out 75 years of Big Liberal Social Programs is more than Senator Webb can handle. I suspect things will not get any better until we have a new President.
Once again the Republicans can thank the Supreme Court for the ability to use unlimited lobby money to buy politicians. The Supreme Court is now just an extention of the RNC – a shame to our democracy.
Mikey
@Truth – After their repeated attacks on Latinos, Blacks, women, gays, union workers, public servants (police, fire, teachers), the working poor, the minimum wage, child labor laws, the middle class in general, and on and on, you think the GOP is going to have a good result in the 2012 elections. Good luck with that.
__________________________________________________________________
True dat! I was speaking with my hubby this morning that just in our household alone, we hit all the demographics the GOP vilifies. He's Latino, I'm handicapped, our labrador is a black and our spaniel is obviously gay. Yet on election day, the Repubs will have the nerve to ask for the two available votes. I just hope my dogs pick well.
I pray that when Gov. Kaine beats him this year we won't have to hear anymore from George Allen.
However, he keeps coming back; so maybe he will be the next Mayor of Richmond?
If you were to have Congress and the President standing before you to present their lists of accomplishments the Presidents list would be much longer. President Obama has gotten things done that is why he has earned a 2nd term and the Republican party will lose control of the House and seats in the Senate.
kaine loves obama.... lets see how many times obama and kaine are pictured together....virgina is not going blue this next election...
Packaged fertilizer.