Congressman Lincoln Davis during his town hall meeting listening tour
In a hotly contested race in Tennessee's 4th District, incumbent Congressman Lincoln Davis is showing a large cash on hand advantage in recently filed financial disclosures.
Davis, a democrat, had more than $481,000 on hand according to Federal Election Commission documents filed Friday evening. The documents track candidates' fundraising through September 30, 2010.
His opponent, Republican Scott Desjarlais had just shy of $81,000 on hand with about three weeks to go until election day.
According to the latest polls, released by Desjarlais' campaign, the Republican is claiming a slim lead in the race against Davis.
In terms of spending, the candidates are running fairly even. Since January 2009, Davis has spent about $65,000 more in campaign related expenses than Desjarlais.
Many national media organizations have pointed to this particular race as one of national interest. Davis, labeled by some as a "blue dog" Democrat is seen as vulnerable at a time of particular negative sentiment in the nation against some Democrats. The "blue dogs" are a group of Democrats seen as being particularly independent and were pointed out as key votes as congress weighed stimulus action and health care reform.
Roughly 58% of Davis' campaign contributions are from political action committees according to the FEC. In contrast, Desjarlais saw about 3.5% of his income come from PACs.