Kucinich, A Fundraising Machine

Well, that was quick.

Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (D-Ohio), whose presidential and congressional campaign accounts were nearly empty at the beginning of the year, has quickly reloaded his coffers in preparation for a tough primary next month to hold on to his Cleveland-based congressional seat.

Within the past seven weeks, Kucinich’s campaign has raised more than $689,000 — nearly all of it from individual donors throughout the country. That’s one of the highest one-month hauls of any congressional candidate this cycle, and it is all the more notable because his campaign account was nearly empty at the end of last year. (Indeed, his critics might point out that the lion’s share of donors come from out-of-district, out-of Ohio contributors.)

Kucinich now has $329,808 cash on hand, well more than the $13,000 he started with at the beginning of the year.

Kucinich is facing a vigorous challenge from Cleveland City Councilor Joe Cimperman, who has accused Kucinich of being an ineffective congressman and neglecting the needs of his constituents. He has already been up on the airwaves with a clever ad campaign reinforcing those themes.

During the same period, Cimperman raised $257,770 and now has $215,463 remaining in his campaign account before the March 4 primary.

Three other Democrats are challenging Kucinich in the primary and have not shown significant fundraising strength, but they could dilute Cimperman’s share of the anti-Kucinich vote.