Congressman Gary Peters is off to a fast start in the 2012 election campaign, such as it is, raising a record amount of cash for the first quarter of the cycle, $434,322.
According to the Bloomfield Township Democrat, that fete broke his own record for the largest amount ever raised by a House candidate in Michigan in the first quarter of an election cycle.
Two years ago, Peters compiled $432,900 in Quarter No. 1 of the 2009-10 cycle.
State Rep. Marty Knollenberg, a Troy Republican who filed his candidacy for Peters’ 9th District seat on April 1, has yet to file any financial reports with the Federal Election Commission.
Of course, depending on how the redistricting process pans out, many pundits predict Peters’ biggest competitor may be fellow Democratic Rep. Sandy Levin in a hotly contested primary. Because Levin’s south Oakland/south Macomb district lost considerable population in the new census, he may be roped into a new Peters’ district by Republican lawmakers who will draw the lines in Lansing.
In the meantime, the Peters camp is boasting that about two-thirds of their donations from the most recent fundraising period came from individuals. The second-term congressman is quick to remind us that he was the only incumbent in the Michigan delegation who raised a majority of his 2009-10 funds from individual donors rather than PACs.
In reality, the biggest problem faced by the congressman’s ’10 GOP opponent, Rocky Raczkowski, was that he managed to raise only a miniscule amount – 4 percent of his total take – from the PACs. As a result, Peters outspent Raczkowski by a $3.2 million to $1.9 million edge.
The current 9th District, which stretches from Royal Oak to Auburn Hills, is considered toss-up territory. However, the number of ticket-splitters is clearly a major factor. In the GOP landslide of last November, Peters received 49.75 percent of the vote in a four-person field, while Democratic gubernatorial candidate Virg Bernero managed just 36.51 percent within the district.