Rep. Zinke doubles Juneau fundraising

HELENA (AP) — U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke’s re-election campaign said it raised more than $783,000 during the first three months of the year and had more than $1 million to spend against his Democratic opponent, Denise Juneau.

The Zinke campaign boasted that its latest fundraising numbers are the most money ever amassed by a Montana candidate for Congress this early in the campaign.

Meanwhile, Juneau raised $363,000 in her bid to limit Zinke to a single term in Congress and had $524,000 cash on hand to wage her campaign, according to documents she filed Thursday with the Federal Elections Commission.

Juneau, who is finishing her second term as Montana’s superintendent of schools, has raised $620,000 since launching her campaign.

Both campaigns released details of their latest campaign finances to the news media ahead of Friday’s deadline.

While Zinke’s tally was not yet officially filed with the Federal Elections Commission, his campaign released a statement showing the clear financial advantage he has over his Democratic challenger.

Zinke is from Whitefish.

In 2014, Zinke won 55 percent of the vote, a 15-point margin over Democrat John Lewis.