Lone Democrat Peters Raises $1M In US Senate Race

LANSING (AP) - Democrat Gary Peters on Friday reported raising slightly more than $1 million in the last three months of his U.S. Senate campaign, with nearly $2.5 million total now in the bank.

The metro Detroit congressman planned to wait to release full details of his report due Monday. But his campaign said most of the money came from Michigan donors and includes no personal financing from Peters.

Earlier this week, Republican Terri Lynn Land said she raised just over $2 million in the third quarter, half of it her own money. Peters got into the race sooner and raised slightly more than $1 million in the second quarter as well.

"Thanks to the overwhelming support Gary has earned from Michiganders as an independent voice for our middle class and small businesses, we are well on our way to building the strongest grassroots campaign this state has ever seen," campaign manager Julie Petrick said in a statement.

Peters is the lone Democrat running to succeed Carl Levin, the long-time Democratic senator who is retiring at the end of 2014. Land, the only Republican candidate to date, also is waiting to release her entire campaign finance report.

It is unclear if either side's report will be available Monday because of the partial government shutdown and its effect on the Federal Election Commission.

Spending on the race is expected to total tens of millions of dollars and could spiral if it remains competitive. The most recent poll showed Peters and Land evenly matched, though many voters were undecided some 14 months before the election.

Land has said the seat is crucial if Republicans are going to win control of the Senate from Democrats. A Republican last won a Senate seat in Michigan in 1994 but held it just one term.

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