Talent has nearly three times the cash of McCaskill

WASHINGTON -- Missouri Sen. Jim Talent has stockpiled nearly $5.7 million to spend on his re-election campaign -- almost three times the cash of Democratic rival Claire McCaskill -- according to campaign finance numbers released Saturday.

McCaskill, the state auditor, boosted her campaign coffers to about $2 million as of March 31, her campaign said.

She hauled in about $1.2 million during the first three months of the year but couldn't keep pace with the Republican incumbent, who raised about $1.5 million over the same period.

"But our campaign isn't about big money," McCaskill spokeswoman Adrianne Marsh said Saturday. "It's about getting out to listen to Missourians and talk about the issues that matter most to them."

Talent and McCaskill are expected to face each other in November in what many predict will be one of the nation's most competitive Senate races. Polls have shown the candidates running even.

McCaskill's campaign was meeting a Saturday night deadline to file its latest report with the Federal Election Commission, while Talent filed his report on Friday.

Despite ramping up fund-raising efforts, McCaskill's campaign recently has tried to lower expectations that she could compete with Talent's ability to raise money, Marsh said.

"We're never going to be able to raise as much as Jim Talent," Marsh said. "But we're committed to maintaining a competitive fund-raising operation."

Talent campaign spokesman Gregg Keller said the senator's success shows that constituents like the job he is doing.

"We are on track to raise the resources we need to get our message out to the voters about Senator Talent's effectiveness in the U.S. Senate for Missouri's common-sense, conservative values," Keller said.

Talent's numbers do not include the results of two major state fund-raisers this month hosted by Vice President Dick Cheney and first lady Laura Bush. Despite the low approval ratings of the Bush administration, Talent has not hesitated to use the clout of senior White House officials to help him raise money.

On Tuesday, Talent joined President Bush in Jefferson City to discuss the Medicare, Part D prescription drug program.

While Talent has not begun actively campaigning, he is spending more money as the race gets closer. His campaign spent $512,522 in the first three months of this year.

An estimate for how much money McCaskill spent in the first three months of 2006 was unavailable Saturday.