Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) indicated that mysterious dark forces — rather than his own increasing unpopularity — are responsible for surging campaign contributions to his Democratic rival, Jaime Harrison. He called for a legislative review of the kind of small-dollar donations that are boosting Harrison.
“Where’s all this money coming from?” Graham asked in an interview Wednesday with The Hill. “Some of these shadowy figures out there running ads, is there any foreign influence afoot?”
Harrison raised a record $57 million, mostly in small, individual contributions, in the third quarter of the year, while Graham raised $28 million. Recent polls give Harrison a slight lead over the three-term incumbent.
Harrison told AP: “Yes, we raised $57 million, but we spent $60 million.
“But that is what we had to do in order to get this thing to toss-up status, in order to bridge the gap.”
Attributing the fundraising success to grassroots support, Harrison’s campaign said the $57 million came in the form of 1.5 million donations from 994,000 donors. The average contribution was $37. Harrison said.
UPDATE:
COLUMBIA — Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison became the first U.S. Senate candidate in American history to pass the $100 million mark for fundraising and spending in early October as he continued to shatter national cash records in his race against South Carolina’s Republican incumbent Lindsey Graham.
