As Election Day closes in, the U.S. Congressional race in Arkansas’ Second District is heating up. Incumbent U.S. Rep. French Hill and challenger state senator Joyce Elliott have been ramping up their campaigns, raising more money and using the funds for advertising.
In third quarter of 2020, Elliott reported that her campaign has raised more than $1.4 million between July 1 and Sept. 30, 2020.
According to Elliott’s campaign, more than 96 percent of the contributions were small-dollar donations with an average size of $40.  “It means the world to Senator Elliott to receive so much support from such a diverse, people-driven movement. Our recent progress in polls proves that the voice of the people still matters in politics,” Elliott’s campaign manager Rhonna-Rose Akama-Makia said in a statement.
Hill’s campaign reported raising more than $1 million in the same time period. This leaves the campaign with approximately $1.14 million on hand.
“The tremendous showing of support for Congressman French Hill in the third quarter has put our campaign in a strong position as we head into the final weeks of the election,” Judith Goodson, Hill’s campaign chairperson, said.
According to OpenSecrets.org, a website overseen by the Center for Responsive Politics, the Second District race is far-and-away the highest profile in terms of fundraising. This race has a total of $2,947,447 based on Federal Election Commission data available on Oct. 7.
Hill’s total campaign receipts have totaled $1,945,719.25, according to the FEC’s website. The campaign has spent $536,865.73, leaving $1,455,625.15 on hand. Elliott’s campaign reports a total of $1,050,501.56 with $331,231.72 in disbursements, leaving $719,269.86 on hand.
The second-highest amount raised for an Arkansas congressional race is for the District 4 race with a total of $1,051,654. In this race, incumbent Bruce Westerman is running against Williams Hanson. Westerman has raised $978,480 compared to Hanson’s $73,174.
The District 3 race has a total of $930,537 raised and the District 1 race, which has an unchallenged candidate with Rep. Rick Crawford, has a total of $769,901 raised.
FiveThirtyEight has projected that Hill will defeat Elliott in the election. Running stimulations, the ABC affiliate has modeled that Hill wins in 76 out of 100 times, based on 40,000 stimulations.
READ MORE: Election Model Gives Hill Edge Over Elliott