Heading into the final month of the campaign, U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin had two-thirds more cash on hand than his Democratic challenger.

The freshman Republican had nearly $1.6 million in the bank — a bit less than half of what he raised in all — while Emily Cain’s coffers fell short of $1 million at the end of September, according to campaign finance documents filed recently with the Federal Election Commission.

Cain, however, has momentum on her side, pulling in more than twice as much money as Poliquin during the three months ending Sept. 30. Overall, she’s raised $2.8 million compared to his $3.1 million.

Contributing to Cain’s record-setting pace is her ability to draw from individual donors. In the past quarter alone, she got campaign cash from almost 2,000 Mainers compared to the 133 who gave to Poliquin.

Poliquin has collected slightly more than half his money from political action committees while Cain has raised three times as much from individual donors as she has from PACs.

Two years ago, when Poliquin defeated Cain to claim the open seat, the two candidates spent about $7 million, a number they’re almost certain to top this time around.

With lots of outside money also flowing into the 2nd District contest, it’s likely the race will wind up costing more than $10 million.

The election is Nov. 8.

scollins@sunjournal.com

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