The Tribune-Democrat's Mike Faher has a nice state-of-the-12th-District-special story here, with a wrapup on fundraising and a reminder of Scott Brown's rally with Tim Burns on Friday.

On the spending:

While initial pre-election reports late last week showed that Burns had raised significantly more money than Critz in April, the Democrat closed that gap in subsequent special filings with the Federal Election Commission.

A tally of the latest reports available by Monday evening showed that Burns, since April 1, had raised $666,141. Critz remained a bit behind, reporting $658,539 during the same time period.

Spending also was similar between the two. The Burns campaign reported expenditures of $604,899 from April 1 through April 28, while Critz spent slightly more at $629,350.

. . . For instance, the National Republican Congressional Committee – which has been behind several television ads against Critz – has spent $728,457 on this congressional race so far this year.

And federal documents show that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which has weighed in frequently against Burns, has spent $646,424 on the race this year.