Balderas Raises $126,897 During First Quarter

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Hector Balderas raised $126,897 during the first quarter of 2012, less than one-third the amount raised by his Democratic rival Rep. Martin Heinrich during the same period.

Balderas’ campaign manager said Balderas raised $100,000 of that amount after his respectable showing at the Democratic pre-primary convention last month. Heinrich last week reported raising $490,000 in donations between January 1 and March 31.

In his filing with the Federal Election Commission, Balderas reported having $394,889 cash-in-hand heading into the June 5 primary elections. Heinrich last week reported his campaign had $1.55 million in the bank.

Former Rep. Heather Wilson, a Republican running for U.S. Senate in New Mexico, reported last week that she raised nearly $760,000 in the first quarter of 2012 and has about $1.45 million in campaign cash in the bank.

The filing deadline for first-quarter fundraising is today. Republican Greg Sowards, who is also seeking the GOP Senate nomination, has not made his FEC report available yet.