BOSTON (AP) – Ronald Crews, a vocal opponent of gay marriage in the state, is lagging in fund raising far behind the congressman he’s trying to unseat.

The Republican Crews raised $42,262 in the first two months of his campaign and spent nearly all of it, The Boston Globe reported Saturday.

But Democratic U.S. Rep. James McGovern of Worcester, who Crews is trying to unseat, raised nearly $216,000 during the same period and was left with about $414,000 in his war chest, according to federal records.

Despite the fund raising gap, Crews insisted that he remained upbeat about his campaign.

“I’m way behind; I know that,” said Crews. “But I’m not discouraged, because the campaign we’re running is grass-roots and it’s people more than dollars.”

Crews is an ordained evangelical minister and a former Georgia lawmaker who has moved to Ashland.

He stepped down as president of the Massachusetts Family Institute, a post in which he had been a high-profile opponent of gay marriage in the state, in early May to run for Congress.

McGovern has used his contributions to hire staff, lease office space and computers and buy lawn signs, leaving him with just over $2,000 in his account when the most recent three-month reporting period ended on June 30, the Globe reported.

McGovern said he was happy with his fund raising performance and he was going to continue to “have an aggressive fund raising campaign and an aggressive grassroots campaign.”

“I’ve never taken any campaign for granted and I won’t take this one for granted,” he said. “My opponent used to be a lobbyist for the Christian Coalition in Georgia, and they have deep pockets, so I’m going to be prepared.”

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