Roger Wicker and Ty Pinkins campaigning (Photos from Facebook)
- U.S. Senator Roger Wicker’s opponent, Democrat Ty Pinkins, is the only challenger even putting up a modest fight in terms of campaign fundraising this cycle.
With just under three weeks until Election Day on November 5, candidates for the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives have filed their October quarterly campaign finance reports with the Federal Election Commission.
Overall, incumbents are far outpacing their challengers in the Magnolia State.
U.S. Senator Roger Wicker is on one end of the incumbent fundraising spectrum, sitting on nearly $4 million in his campaign war chest while 4th District Congressman Mike Ezell is on the other, reporting just $48,000 cash on hand.
As for the challengers, Wicker’s opponent, Democrat Ty Pinkins, is the only one who has shown the ability to raise even a modest amount in their campaign’s effort to unseat an incumbent.
Below is a look at where each federal candidate on the Mississippi General Election ballot stands financially heading down the stretch.
U.S. Senate
Incumbent Republican Senator Roger Wicker continues to rake in campaign contributions, bringing in nearly $755,000 between the period of July and September, pushing his election cycle-to-date raised to over $9.3 million.
Wicker is now sitting on $3.88 million cash on hand in his campaign account.
Senator Wicker’s General Election opponent, Democrat Ty Pinkins, hasn’t been as fortunate on the fundraising side.
Pinkins’ latest filing shows him with $77,000 cash on hand after raising $388,000 this period and just under $888,000 for the election cycle-to-date.
1st Congressional District
Incumbent Republican Congressman Trent Kelly has raised $1.19 million this election cycle-to-date, adding $205,000 for the July to September reporting period.
Kelly now has $624,000 cash on hand leading up to his General Election matchup with Democrat Dianne Black, whose October report is not yet showing as having been filed with the FEC.
In the July filing, Black reportedly raised roughly $9,300 this election cycle and showed $4,900 cash on hand.
2nd Congressional District
Mississippi’s lone Democratic member of the federal delegation, incumbent Congressman Bennie Thompson, raised another $178,000 over the last quarter, bringing his election cycle-to-date total to over $1 million.
Thompson reports to have $1.76 million cash on hand.
Republican challenger, Ron Eller, has barely raised over 10 percent of Thompson’s haul last quarter, taking in less than $20,000 in the election cycle-to-date.
3rd Congressional District
Incumbent Republican Congressman Michael Guest is unopposed in the November General Election. Yet, his October filing shows Guest was still able to add funds to his campaign account, bringing in $115,000 from July to September.
Guest has raised $767,000 during this election cycle, putting his cash on hand at $424,000.
4th Congressional District
After a spirited Republican Primary, incumbent Congressman Mike Ezell has reportedly raised over $1.1 million this election cycle-to-date, adding $75,000 over the last quarter.
However, Ezell now has just $48,000 cash on hand leading up to the General Election where he will face Democratic challenger Craig Elliott Raybon.
According to the FEC’s 4th District House reporting page, Raybon has not filed any campaign finance documentation this cycle.
Frank Corder
