Carlson Outraised, Outspent Daley During Last Election Cycle

District 38 Sen. Ted Daley (R) may have defeated former incumbent Jim Carlson in 2010—but Carlson outraised and outspent his challenger during the last election cycle.

Carlson began the year with roughly $16,000 in funding and raised more than $51,000 throughout the election year, according to a year-end campaign finance report issued earlier this year by the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board.

Individual contributions made up the bulk of the money Carlson raised in 2010, though the former legislator also received significant funding from political committees, including the Education Minnesota PAC and the Minneapolis Firefighters Relief Association Political Fund, among other sources.

Carlson, who was defeated by roughly 1,000 votes in 2010, spent a total of $65,406.66 throughout the year. The vast majority of Carlson's campaign expenditures—more than $51,000—were to print and mail campaign flyers and informational brochures , according to finance reports. But Carlson also paid for parade entry fees, website hosting services, t-shirts and for office supplies.

Daley raised roughly $46,000 and spent nearly $41,000 throughout 2010, according to the year-end campaign finance report.

Funding for his campaign came from a variety of sources: Daley had the slight edge over Carlson in individual donations, raising nearly $25,000 from supporters. The senator also pumped $1,900 of his own money into his own campaign and received nearly $1,600 from lobbyist groups.

Daley did not benefit as much from political groups—raising roughly $7,300 from political parties and political action committees, compared to the more than $13,000 Carlson received from those same sources.

Like Carlson, the majority of Daley's campaign expenses—roughly $21,000—were for printing and mailing campaign material to local voters. The senator also spent more than $4,000 on campaign signs.

District 39 Sen. Jim Metzen (DFL) was no slouch in the 2010 election. The Senator began 2010 with roughly $14,000 in funding, but raised roughly $37,474 over the course of the year, including $8,350 in individual donations. Metzen spent roughly $44,393 during 2010—the majority of it on campaign advertising.

That number is more than double the money spent by Metzen's 2010 Republican opponent, Robb Soleim, Jr. Soleim raised roughly $19,720 in 2010, and spent roughly $19,000.

See the chart below for detailed information on the candidates' fundraising sources in 2010.

2010 Fundraising Sources*

Campaign Fund Balance Beginning of 2010

*Numbers include in-kind donations.