Nick Begich, Republican candidate for Alaska’s only congressional seat, announced today that his campaign has raised $300,000 in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Begich was able to raise the funds in the roughly 60 days he had after the rollout of his campaign in late October. About half of the funds Begich raised came from his own bank account.

“The amount raised by Alaskans for Nick Begich in the last two months of 2021 exceeds the total raised by Congressman Don Young in each of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd quarters of 2021, the Begich campaign said in a statement on Monday.

All federal campaigns must release their fundraising totals for the final quarter of 2021 by Jan. 31. These numbers show how much support a candidate has gathered and whether they will have resources to be able to get their message out to voters and motivate them to go to the polls in August’s primary and November’s general election.

Begich, who is the Republican Begich in a family of well-known Democrats, has conducted campaign events all over the major population centers of Alaska and across much of Southeast Alaska. Most of his events have been meet-and-greets, rather than fundraisers. His strategy has been to get to know more people and and state his case for going to Washington, D.C. as Alaska’s congressional representative. He has obtained over 100 endorsements from both elected officials and community influencers across Alaska.

As of 8 am Alaska time, the Alaskans for Don Young campaign have not posted their fundraising totals on the FEC’s website, nor released a statement in advance about them.

In his statement about his fundraising results, Begich took a shot at Congressman Don Young:

“After missing nearly 2 years of committee markup sessions and after voting by proxy in 2021 more than nearly any House Republican, Alaskans are rightfully concerned about their obvious lack of representation in Congress,” his campaign said.

Young has been Alaska’s congressman since March of 1973 and is the longest-serving Republican congressman in history. He is the dean of the House, a ceremonial title given to the longest-serving member. Begich was the co-chair of Young’s successful 2020 campaign and advised the congressman then that he would almost certainly be running for the seat in 2022.

“We are seeing a groundswell of Alaskans ready for new leadership. This is not only illustrated by the campaign’s early fundraising success, but in the staggering number of endorsements from both prominent elected officials and every day Alaskans. Citizens across Alaska are stepping forward to volunteer, contribute, and engage in a movement that is much bigger than this campaign,” Begich said. “The people of Alaska are seeing what was once a bright future whither on the vine. Alaska’s best years can still be ahead of us, but to achieve the full potential of our great state, we must have 21st century leadership with energy, passion, and private sector experience. I’m committed to a future for Alaska that maximizes our potential and develops our resources for the benefit of all Alaskans.”

Young has not yet started campaigning in earnest but will begin with war chest acquired since his 2020 race. Before today’s expected filing, he had $500,000 cash on hand. Must Read Alaska will report on other campaigns’ fundraising as the information becomes available.