Margaret Anderson Kelliher raises $1 million, but burns through cash

Photo: Nick Vlcek

Margaret Anderson Kelliher's burning through her cash

​DFL-endorsed Margaret Anderson Kelliher says her gubernatorial campaign has raised almost a cool $1 million so far in 2010. But while the figure sounds like a lot of dough, but the fact is that Team Kelliher currently only has about $385,000 left -- and that's an issue as she battles Mark Dayton and Matt Entenza in the DFL primary next month.

Both opponents claim huge personal fortunes, making funding one of the former legislator's biggest obstacles between here and the governor's mansion.

"I think Margaret's in for a battle for the nomination and, frankly, whatever advantage she has coming out of the convention is really going to pale in comparison to the money the name recognition the talent and the energy that Dayton and Entenza are going to bring," said political analyst Larry Jacobs in an interview after the DFL convention earlier this year.

DFL Party Chair Brian Melendez voiced a similar concern.

"That is a real issue," said Melendez in May. "When you're running against millionaires who are willing to spend their own money and you're limited to $2,000 per donation, that is not a level playing field. The DFL Party is here to help, but even the party itself doesn't have the kind of money that Matt Entenza and Mark Dayton do."

Read more here.

The reporting deadline for campaign finances is today, so we should expect to see financial disclosure from the other candidates soon.

While releasing her required campaign finance information early, Kelliher also voluntarily released her family's personal financial information, including her husband's income sources. Kelliher called Minnesota's campaign disclosure laws too lax, and proposed a reform that would require each candidate and their spouse to disclose their personal income, sources of income, stocks and property value.