Chet Edwards and Bill Flores leaked snippets of information from their most recent fundraising reports Thursday, showing the House candidates each raised upward of $600,000, but Edwards had far more cash on hand.

The full reports covering the fundraising quarter from April through the end of June became public on the Federal Election Commission’s website at 11 p.m. Thursday.

A campaign aide to Edwards, a Waco Democrat, said Edwards raised $615,822 for the quarter. That compares to $613,142 for Flores, the Republican challenger from Bryan, according to a statement issued by his campaign.

Republican Bill Flores (left) seeks to unseat U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, in November.

Edwards had $2.14 million in his campaign coffers at the end of the quarter, while Flores had around $415,000 in the bank.

The two candidates also selectively highlighted fundraising successes from their respective reports.

Flores’ statement called his total “even more impressive” because he was locked in the final stretch of a tough primary at the onset of the reporting period.

“Nearly 60 percent of the contributions were less than $200, and the majority of contributions were from 17th (congressional) district residents,” the statement said.

The 12-county, Central Texas district is among the most Republican-leaning House districts in the country represented by a Democrat.

A memo from Edwards’ campaign manager, in a nod to the conservative nature of the district, notes Edwards’ support “comes from a broad range of contributors, including conservative groups such as the Texas Farm Bureau AgFund and numerous Republican-leaning business leaders and groups.” AgFund is the Waco-based Farm Bureau’s political action committee.

Edwards’ campaign manager also noted that Edwards raked in more than twice what he had raised at this point in the 2008 campaign cycle.

There was some confusion Thursday afternoon about who outraised who for the quarter. Edwards’ camp had announced via e-mail in the morning raising more than $609,000.

Later in the day, Flores’ release claimed a narrow fundraising victory, reporting more than $613,000 in “total receipts,” a figure that includes contributions and loans received by a campaign.

An Edwards spokesperson said Edwards initially announced the tally of just his contributions. His total receipts, she said, added up to just shy of $616,000.

mshapiro@wacotrib.com

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