Mayor Vincent Gray has collected $627,000 in the two months since he announced his reelection bid, a fundraising sprint that nearly catches him up to his multiple competitors’ million-dollar warchests.
Gray’s fundraising arm has raced ahead of all other opponents, reporting about $560,000 on hand with two months to go before the Democratic primary, according to campaign finance records made public Friday.
Campaign fundraisers had said Gray wanted to break seven figures by the end of January, but he got a late start when he announced his campaign in December. The incumbent mayor, who is an alumnus, entered a pool that already boasts nearly a half-dozen candidates.
Council member Jack Evans added nearly $200,000 to his million-dollar campaign warchest. That brings him up to the second-largest amount in the bank, with $685,000.
Likely to be a close competitor, Council member Muriel Bowser has also raised a total of about $1 million. Over the past month, she raised $166,000, leaving her with the most cash on hand than any other candidate.