Vernon continues fundraising lead in Iowa’s 1st District primary race

CEDAR RAPIDS - There's been no polling to show who is leading in the Democratic primary race in Iowa's U.S. House 1st district, but Monica Vernon is running away with the money race.

Vernon raised more than three times as much money as fellow candidate Pat Murphy of Dubuque during the Federal Election Commission's pre-primary reporting period that covers April 1 to May 18.

Murphy, a former state representative, raised $35,869 during that time frame, while Vernon pulled in $112,190, according to her FEC report.

She also spent nearly six times as much as Murphy - $465,934 to $78,052 - and closed out the pre-primary reporting period with nine times as much cash on hand - $420,887 to Murphy's $46,294.

Vernon continued her fundraising dominance over Murphy, who was the Democratic candidate in the open-seat 1st District race in 2014. In the 2015-16 election cycle, Vernon, a former business owner and city council member in Cedar Rapids, has raised $1,402,326 to Murphy's $238,990, according to their FEC reports.

In the primary, Vernon has outspent Murphy $981,439 to $194,030.

Whoever wins the June 7 Democratic primary will face first-term Republican Rep. Rod Blum, a Dubuque businessman. He's raised more than either Democrat - $1,486,503 - and has $1,284,392 cash on hand for the general election race.