AP: 2010 Neb. 2nd District race already expensive

Margery Beck, Associated Press
October 15, 2009

OMAHA, Neb. -- With more than a year to go before the general election, Nebraska's 2nd District congressional race is already on track to become a bank-buster.

Democrat Tom White raised more than $204,000 in the quarter that ended Sept. 30, according to the campaign finance report he filed Thursday with the Federal Election Commission. He's seeking to unseat 2nd District Republican incumbent Lee Terry, who raised more than $226,000 for the quarter, according to his campaign's filing.

That compares with $184,000 Terry raised in the same quarter in the last election cycle. His general election opponent in that 2008 race, Democrat Jim Esch, hadn't even announced his candidacy in October 2007.

Esch announced his candidacy in late February 2008 -- and spending on that race surpassed $3 million. Esch came within 4 percentage points of knocking off the incumbent in November. Both the national Republican and Democratic parties consider the seat vulnerable to a Democratic takeover in 2010.

Thursday's campaign finance filings show Terry is having no trouble raising money. He had raised more than $512,000 for the election cycle and had about $335,000 cash on hand at the end of the quarter. White, who formed his exploratory committee in July and announced his candidacy in early September, had $197,000 cash on hand.

Another candidate in the race, Republican businessman Matt Sakalosky, had not filed his quarterly report by early Thursday afternoon. Calls to his campaign were not immediately returned.

In an e-mail to supporters sent Thursday, White thanked the 874 individuals who contributed to his campaign.

"This strong showing -- better than any Democratic challenger or open-seat candidate in Nebraska in the 21st century -- will keep national eyes on this race and reaffirms the central theme of my campaign: Nebraskans are ready for independent, effective representation in the House," White wrote.

Terry's camp said the congressman is in a position to win re-election.

"We have set fundraising goals that have been met each quarter this year, and we are on track to raise the amounts of money we need to run a full comprehensive campaign through Nov. 2010," said Dave Boomer, Terry's campaign manager.

In Nebraska's sprawling 3rd District, Republican Rep. Adrian Smith raised nearly $128,000 for the quarter and more than $317,000 for the election cycle, according to his campaign finance report. He had more than $379,000 cash on hand.

His challenger, Democrat Rebekah Davis of Alliance, lags far behind, having raised just under $5,400 for the quarter and $7,000 for the entire cycle. She had about $5,800 cash on hand.

Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, a Republican who represents Nebraska's Lincoln-based 1st District, raised $64,600 for the quarter. He raised $212,500 for the election cycle and had $541,000 cash on hand.

Fortenberry so far faces no serious challenge for 2010.