Specter: $1.16 million; Sestak, $442,000

In a terse statement Thursday afternoon, the campaign of Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., revealed that it raised $1.16 million in the first quarter and now has $9.06 million cash on hand. This is just half the total raised by Republican Pat Toomey in that span.

Specter's consolation?  His Democrtic challenger,  Rep. Joe Sestak of Delaware County, lags well behind him, having raised just $442,000 since Jan. 1.

Though Specter still has a considerable war chest, his monetary support remained flat from his fourth quarter total of $1.15 million. In the third quarter of 2009, Specter raised $1.82 million.

Specter also spent most of what he brought in during the first quarter, going through more than $700,000. Now he's getting into the most expensive part of campaigning: running television ads.

Mr. Sestak's receipts were unimpressive, but his campaign put the best face on them, noting that the challenger had $5.3 million in cash on hand as it entered the campaign's home stretch.

“We knew what we needed for the final weeks of the campaign and hit that on January 1, said spokesman Jonathon Dworkin.  "Since then, Joe focused on meeting with Pennsylvanians and has held more than 450 events throughout the state. The strategy has worked, as the race has now tightened, forcing Specter to go on the air earlier than he planned, and where we have $5.3 million on hand for media at the right time -- more than anyone has ever raised as the challenger.''