*** UPDATE ***  From the Kirk campaign…

1Q Numbers for Kirk

Raised: $1,200,000.00
COH: $3.3 million

Response from KFS Campaign Manager Kevin Artl-

“Since his recovery from a stroke in 2012, Senator Kirk has raised over $8 million from over 20,000 donors. During the most recent primary election, Kirk won all 102 Illinois counties and even received more votes than Duckworth in 89 counties - a strength that is also reflected in recent polling that outlines the race as a statistical tie. There is no doubt Senator Kirk will have the resources needed to continue highlighting Duckworth’s reckless national security positions, including her call for allowing in 200,000 unsafely-vetted Syrian refugees. At the same time, Rep. Duckworth will be forced to spend considerable resources dealing with her pending legal troubles where she is accused of retaliating against VA whistleblowers who alerted investigators to mistreatment of veterans under Duckworth’s care.”

* Press release…

Powered by a significant increase in grassroots, small-dollar donations, Tammy Duckworth’s U.S. Senate campaign raised $2.1 million in the first quarter of 2016, and has over $4 million on hand. Duckworth scored a decisive primary win on March 15th, and more than doubled its fundraising pace over the last half of the quarter, taking in over $1.4 million in that time. The campaign received more than 37,000 individual contributions in the first quarter, and has now received nearly 93,000 individual contributions overall. The average contribution this quarter was just $50, while the median was $20.

“This was our campaign’s strongest quarter yet, with both a decisive primary win and significant growth in our base of grassroots contributors,” Tammy for Illinois campaign manager Kaitlin Fahey said. “Tammy’s strong showing on March 15th and subsequent outreach throughout Illinois has demonstrated real enthusiasm and ability to grow. Our campaign is moving into the general election with momentum and expanding resources, and we couldn’t be more optimistic and enthusiastic. Compare that to Mark Kirk, who last week had to resort to releasing an internal poll showing him losing and under the 40 percent threshold, and who has pledged that he ‘certainly would’ support Republican frontrunner Donald Trump, despite Trump’s increasingly outrageous campaign and deep-seated unpopularity among Illinoisans. Kirk’s record of serving the interests of corporations and Wall Street banks at the expense of Illinois families may finally be catching up to him.”

Some key highlights from the report, which will be filed with the Senate Office of Public Records and Federal Elections Commission this week:

The campaign received 37,366 individual contributions from a total of 28,104 individuals in the first quarter. Since declaring in March of 2015, the Duckworth for Senate campaign has received 92,839 individual contributions;

Of those 1Q contributions, 96.1 percent were for $100 or less, a 1.5% increase over the previous quarter;

The average individual contribution was $50.81, and the median individual contribution was $20, both the lowest such figures for this cycle, demonstrating rapid growth in low-dollar contributors.

The Illinois Senate race is consistently ranked as the top race in the country, and Senator Kirk is routinely listed as the most vulnerable Senate incumbent. The Duckworth campaign raised $1 million more than Kirk over the last two quarters of 2015, essentially erasing Kirk’s longstanding cash-on-hand advantage. Duckworth raised $661,000 during the pre-primary period from January 1st—February 24th, compared to $458,000 for Kirk. Kirk has not publicly released his full first quarter fundraising numbers.

Last week, Duckworth was endorsed by President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.

As noted in the release, Sen. Kirk has not yet released his latest fundraising totals. Kirk raised $1 million in the fourth quarter, and ended last year with $3.8 million on hand. Duckworth, by contrast raised $1.6 million in that quarter and had $3.65 million on hand. So, her cash position didn’t increase by much.

But this is a long race and there will be tons of outside money spent here, so a few hundred grand difference between the two right now won’t matter much come November.

* Related…

* ADDED: Sun-Times editorial: False facts and fearful talk about Guantanamo give U.S. black eye: But Kirk has it wrong. Federal law already prohibits sending Gitmo detainees to Iran, Sudan or any other country on a list of nations designated as state sponsors of terrorism.

* Laura Washington: Debates will help settle Kirk-Duckworth race