While Republicans were focused on choosing between three candidates, Democratic Congressman Tim Walz continued to expand an already enormous fund-raising advantage during the first quarter of 2008.

The Walz campaign reported Thursday that the freshman from Mankato has now topped $1.5 million in total donations during the 2008 election cycle after raising $352,000 in the first three months of the year.

Walz’s total fund-raising for the current campaign already exceeds the $1.3 million he raised in the entire 2006 election cycle. That was just short of the amount generated by longtime incumbent Republican Congressman Gil Gutknecht and helped Walz win an upset victory at the polls.

Dr. Brian Davis, the Rochester physician who received the Republican Party endorsement on March 29, said he generated $59,000 in the first quarter and has about $50,000 in cash on hand. Walz’s cash on hand now exceeds $1 million. Davis' primary opponent, state Sen. Dick Day of Owatonna, has not yet compiled his financing report.

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