Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly raises $13.6 million in second quarter

Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly’s campaign says it raised $13.6 million in the second fundraising quarter of 2022, a staggering sum for one of one of the party’s best fundraisers ahead of a pivotal Senate re-election.

The $13.6 million means Kelly has raised $52 million so far this cycle, Kelly’s campaign tells NBC News. The senator closed June with $25 million in cash on hand, and his campaign says 97 percent of their donations were of $100 or less.

“Senator Kelly always puts Arizonans first: our small businesses, our seniors, and our hardworking families who need relief from high prices at the grocery store and the gas pump,” Emma Brown, Kelly’s campaign manager said in a statement.

Arizonans know we need Mark Kelly in the U.S. Senate, which is why grassroots donors continue to rocket this campaign forward, moving us full speed ahead to November.”

Since second-quarter fundraising reports aren’t due until Friday at midnight, there’s still a lot to be learned about how other candidates fared in fundraising over that same time period. But Kelly’s haul is one of the highest publicly announced — Georgia Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock’s campaign says he raised $17.2 million over the same period.

Kelly won his seat in the Senate in 2020, defeating GOP Sen. Martha McSally in a special election after McSally was appointed to the seat vacated by the death of Sen. John McCain. Because his 2020 election was only to fill the remainder of McCain’s term, he’s up for re-election again this year.

Republicans are currently waiting for the results of a contested primary on Aug. 2 to decide their nominee in a race that includes businessman Jim Lamon (who is partially self-funding his campaign), former President Trump-backed Blake Masters and state Attorney General Mark Brnovich.

All of those candidates would be expected to be well-funded if they win, as Republicans are hoping to flip a seat in a state where new numbers show the GOP has a narrow voter registration edge.