AUGUSTA – An Auburn Republican challenging Democratic U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud for his 2nd District congressional seat had his best fundraising quarter yet, but still trails Michaud by about $600,000 in available campaign cash.

Jason Levesque, a political newcomer who is running against Michaud, raised about $102,000 during the most recent three-month Federal Election Commission reporting period. The fundraising quarter began April 1 and ended June 30.

“We had a goal of $100,000 to raise for the quarter, even though we knew the primary (gubernatorial race) would take up a lot of attention,” he said.

Levesque said he was also impressed with the individual donations he received. “We raised more money from individuals than Michaud has,” he said.

Michaud’s campaign raised about $171,000 over that same period, with about $124,000 coming from political action committees, according to FEC reports. Some PAC donors included Boeing, the Dairy Farmers of America, the Florida Sugar Cane League, International Paper and the United Steelworkers.

Greg Olson, Michaud’s campaign manager, said in a statement that they were also proud of their fundraising success.

“We have already surpassed our total number of donors from 2008 and we have an aggressive summer planned to continue this growth,” he said.

Overall, Levesque has raised $238,000, compared to Michaud’s $766,000. Michaud has $668,000 in campaign cash left to spend, versus $60,000 for Levesque.

Levesque’s team also recently received an FEC request for follow-up information on a report that included improperly filed entries on donations made by the candidates, itemized spending and reimbursements.

“Reimbursements above a certain dollar amount have to be itemized, and we didn’t realize that,” he said, adding that his campaign has until July 29 to respond before any disciplinary action is taken.

 

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