Despite recent polls that place him at the bottom of the heap at the ballot box, U.S. Senate candidate Joshua Rales ranks second in the fundraising race among Democrats.
According to the most recent tallies reported by the Federal Election Commission, Rales had raised $1.1 million by the end of March, second only to veteran Rep. Ben Cardin, who had raised $3.8 million.
But an April Gonzales Research & Marketing poll showed that only 1 percent of likely Democratic primary voters were willing to vote for Rales if the election were held now.
“For most voters, this election has not begun,” said Robin Rorapaugh, Rales? campaign manager. “The race has thus far been about name recognition. Name recognition is tied to voter awareness, and by Election Day, voters in Maryland will know who Josh Rales is.”
Rales, a Bethesda native and a former Republican, founded a real estate investment firm in 1984. Almost half of the political newcomer?s total funding ? $545,000 ? has come from his own pocket. In addition to his business, Rales and his wife co-founded the Ruth Rales Comcast Kids Reading Network to help Montgomery County second-graders learn to read.
Cardin and former NAACP Chairman Kweisi Mfume topped the list of likely primary winners, according to the Gonzales poll, though Mfume has only raised $623,336 and has just $185,366 on hand.
Lise Van Susteren announced last week she was dropping out of the race for financial reasons but did not endorse any of the remaining candidates.
