Hagerty raises another $1.5M in Tennessee US Senate bid

Published 9:34 am Monday, January 27, 2020

NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee Republican Bill Hagerty raised more than $1.5 million last quarter in a contested race for an open U.S. Senate seat, his campaign said Thursday.

According to his campaign, Hagerty ended the quarter that concluded Dec. 31 with more than $3 million cash on hand.

The former U.S. ambassador to Japan faces Nashville trauma surgeon Manny Sethi in the Republican primary in August. Sethi’s campaign has not released his campaign finance totals for the last quarter yet. Those reports are due Jan. 31.

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Sethi ended September with about $2 million in cash left.

Hagerty, from Nashville, entered the race in September. Sethi began running in June. Hagerty has scored President Donald Trump’s endorsement, though both candidates are praising the president.

Democrat James Mackler likewise hasn’t released fourth-quarter campaign finance totals yet. Mackler, a Nashville attorney and former Army helicopter pilot, entered October with $296,000 remaining. He announced his campaign last January.

The three candidates and several others are vying to replace Republican U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, who is retiring at the end of his term.

Republicans have held both Tennessee seats in the Senate since 1994.