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Democratic U.S. Senate Troy Jackson raised $5.3 million through the fundraising platform ActBlue in July, finishing third nationally among all Senate candidates despite becoming Maine’s nominee in the final week of the month.
ActBlue released its July totals Thursday, offering the first detailed look at the money Jackson has pulled in since he emerged from a chaotic three-week process to replace Graham Platner on the ballot against U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, in one of the nation’s biggest races.
The data is not comprehensive because Jackson does not need to report his campaign’s finances until October. But ActBlue typically accounts for a large majority of the money raised by priority candidates reliant on small donors, two labels that fit his campaign well.
Most of that money came in fast. Jackson built a base by declaring as a candidate the day before Platner withdrew following a rape allegation. Jackson then saw a spike the day Maine Democrats formally nominated him July 25, when he won nearly every delegate at a special convention in Bangor, bringing in $1.2 million that day and the bulk of his July haul after that.
His early fundraising pace has likely cooled since then. ActBlue had him outside the top five trending campaigns nationwide this week. But his July total already amounted to a substantial bite out of the $18.9 million Collins’ campaign had raised by the end of June.
He still has a long way to go. Between her campaign account and a joint fundraising committee, she has already reserved roughly twice as much in advertising as Jackson has, according to AdImpact data. And Republicans have reserved $125 million in total advertising to $75 million on the Democratic side, with the race already crossing $200 million.
Jackson wasn’t the only Democrat pulling in ActBlue money during the scramble to replace Platner. Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, Jordan Wood and Nirav Shah each raised six-figure sums on the platform in July, a fraction of Jackson’s total but a sign of how much small-dollar energy the open seat generated across the field.
ActBlue will report August fundraising next month, which will be the next look at Jackson’s staying power before he and Collins have to report their latest numbers in October.