Vernon continues to lead Blum in Iowa 1st District fundraising

CEDAR RAPIDS - Once again, challenger Monica Vernon has outraised Rep. Rod Blum, but the Cedar Rapids Democratic candidate also outspent the GOP incumbent and has less cash on hand for the final sprint to Nov. 8.

Vernon has led Blum in fundraising for the past five quarterly reporting periods.

Vernon raised $617,000 in the quarter ending Sept. 30, according to the candidates' Federal Election Commission reports. Blum raised $481,000.

The latest quarter's haul raised Vernon's overall fundraising total to $2,296,901 compared to Blum's $2,144,725.

The first-term Republican has spent $1,295,480 to Vernon's $2,112,645, leaving Blum with a cash on hand advantage of $709,000.

Polls have shown Blum with leads ranging from 7 to 16 percentage points in the race for Iowa's U.S. House 1st District, which includes Cedar Rapids, Dubuque, Cedar Falls, Waterloo and Marshalltown. However, a more recent poll commissioned by a Democratic fundraising group showed the race to be a statistical dead heat. Blum led 45 percent to 44 percent with 11 percent undecided and a 4.9 percent margin of error.

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