Advance Indiana suggests Clinton will carry Indiana’s 2nd District.

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The South Bend Tribune reports on 2nd District candidates’ fundraising status:

Donnelly has fundraising advantage
Puckett only Republican to receive contributions so far.

ED RONCO
Tribune Staff Writer

U.S. Rep. Joe Donnelly leads his Republican challengers in the fundraising game — something that will change soon, said a spokesman for Donnelly’s likely fall opponent.

Donnelly, D-Granger, had $849,812.30 on hand as of April 16, according to a report from the Federal Election Commission.

Luke Puckett, the party-backed Republican who is one of three people seeking that party’s nomination, had $155,266.65 on hand as of April 16.

But if you’re looking for a barometer of support (or a sign of momentum), check out the net contributions received by each since the beginning of the year.

Puckett, who didn’t start fundraising until mid-February, received $33,000 from about 20 donors.”It’s a little bit lower than what we hoped for,” said Kyle Bailey, Puckett’s campaign manager. “But not surprising, just because of, honestly, the lack of attention the congressional race is getting right now.”

Most of the campaign money comes from $150,000 Puckett loaned to his own campaign, said Kyle Bailey, Puckett’s campaign manager.

“This is nothing new,” Bailey said. “He felt he wanted to be more invested in his own campaign before he went out and asked anyone else to invest in it.”Donnelly, on the other hand, records $223,558.28 in donations from Jan. 1 to April 16, from hundreds of donors.

It’s a sign of the incumbent’s momentum, campaign manager Andrew Lattanner said.

“We’re going to have the resources we need, and more importantly, the record we need to run a strong campaign,” Lattanner said.Puckett’s numbers are lackluster despite the fact that he’s the party-backed candidate, Lattanner said.

“(Puckett’s) demonstrated that he’s not able to raise the kind of money it takes to compete in this district,” he said. “You combine that with the fact that he’s running against a moderate Democrat who has the resources and the record — it puts him in a tough position.”

But Bailey, of Puckett’s campaign, said the numbers will change soon. Puckett just started appearing on TV news broadcasts and has bought some television commercials.

“You would not believe the amount of calls our office is getting,” Bailey said. “Our fund-raising operation is really getting up and going now.”

On their ownBoth Tony Zirkle and Joe Roush, the two Republicans who will face Puckett for the GOP nomination for Congress, are self-funded and don’t have reports on file with the FEC.

Candidates are required to report contributions when their total receipts exceed $5,000.

“We haven’t broken the $200 limit,” Roush said.

Roush, who said he’s trying to put a poor man — himself — in Congress, hasn’t had a lot of expenses.

“Other than paying for a little bit of gasoline to run around, I’ve printed up 5,000 business cards that have information on both sides of them that cost about $157,” Roush said. “That’s it.”Zirkle just shelled out $14,701 of his own money for a television commercial airing on Fox News Channel, CNN and WNDU-TV.

“It wiped me out for a couple of days,” Zirkle said in a statement. “If I have a good work week, I’ll add channels 22 and 28; however, I’m a bit busy right now.”

Zirkle doesn’t accept contributions to his campaign. Without donors to please, he’s more free to speak his mind on controversial issues, he said.

“On the other hand, honestly, it’s probably better for me if I don’t accept them,” he said. “Because if I only raise $100 or $200, then the other guy gets $600,000, it looks like I don’t have any support. That’s really the honest answer.”

From the The Northwest Indiana Times: 

The percent of funds going to candidates in Indiana’s 9 Congressional candidates (Republicans and Democrats) during each election cycle:

2000: Republicans 53 percent, Democrats 47 percent
2002: Republicans 60 percent, Democrats 40 percent
2004: Republicans 53 percent, Democrats 47 percent
2006: Republicans 56 percent, Democrats 44 percent
2008: Republicans 35 percent, Democrats 65 percent

(The NW Times also reported that Joe Donnelly has thus far raised more than $1 million towards his re-election. – DW)