McCain spending tops $10 million in second quarter

[July 24, 2010]  PHOENIX (AP) -- Arizona Sen. John McCain has been beating up on his main Republican primary challenger, but it's come at a price.

McCain spent more than $10.2 million on his re-election bid in the quarter ended June 30, according to Federal Election Commission records made public Friday.

McCain also transferred $4.65 million left from his 2008 presidential run as he battles former U.S. Rep. J.D. Hayworth. McCain had $1.8 million on hand at the end of June.

Hayworth raised nearly $1.4 million during the period and spent $1.1 million. He had $922,000 on hand at the end of last month.

Hayworth entered the race as a serious threat to McCain, but recent polls show the incumbent with a comfortable lead.

The pace of Hayworth's fundraising slowed in the second quarter. His haul for the past three months was just $300,000 more than the roughly $1.1 million he raised during the first six weeks he was in the race.

McCain has hammered Hayworth for his brief stint as a registered lobbyist and for starring in an infomercial pitching free government money. Much of McCain's spending during the most recent quarter went to television ads highlighting Hayworth's work, including ads that called him a "huckster."

Hayworth launched a television ad on Friday attacking McCain for his past work on an immigration overhaul that would have created a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants.

The Hayworth camp says McCain's decision to dip into the presidential-campaign well shows he's worried about the challenge from Hayworth.

"It may be legal, but it's certainly wrong for Sen. McCain to accept millions of dollars for one campaign and then spend it on another campaign," Hayworth spokesman Mark Sanders said.

Hayworth has raised more than $2.4 million since entering the race in February. McCain has raised $17.8 million since the beginning of 2009, including the money he's transferred from his presidential campaign accounts.

McCain campaign spokesman Brian Rogers said transferring money is common, and the campaign's heavy spending is clearly working.

"It's not a surprise that television ads cost money," he said.

Former Tucson City Councilman Rodney Glassman led the Democrats, raising nearly $1.1 million, almost half of it his own money. He had just $760,000 on hand.

Former state lawmaker Cathy Eden raised $123,000, including $50,000 of her own money. Activist Randy Parraz raised $54,000 while former investigative journalist John Dougherty raised $47,000, including $19,000 of his own money.

[Associated Press; By JONATHAN J. COOPER]

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.