Conway raises nearly $400,000 for 2015 gubernatorial campaign in quarter, pushing total to $1.1 million

Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway raised nearly $400,000 in the latest fundraising quarter, giving the Democratic hopeful more than $1.1 million raised since he entered the race in early May.

Conway’s campaign announced the $397,539 raised late Monday, which The Lexington Herald-Leader first reported . The Democratic hopeful has $978,044 cash on hand in his campaign coffers.

“Great results for two straight reporting periods show the strength of our campaign and that we are uniting Democrats behind our ticket for the 2015 governor’s race,” Conway said in a statement. “Sannie Overly and I remain focused on the Kentucky House races and Alison Lundergan Grimes’ campaign for U.S. Senate. Sannie and I will begin the process of building out our campaign after the November elections.”

Conway’s campaign noted that the attorney general’s first two fundraising quarters outpaced those of Gov. Steve Beshear’s re-election campaign. Beshear, who is term-limited after winning in 2007 and 2011, raised just more than $1 million in his first two quarters as an incumbent in 2009, according to Conway’s campaign.

Conway has built a sizable war chest since declaring his candidacy alongside Overly, a Paris Democrat and state House majority caucus chair. He is the lone Democrat in the 2015 race, but other names mentioned as potential primary contenders include House Speaker Greg Stumbo and former Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo.

“Our record as attorney general is one of promises made and promises kept. I have a record of putting people before politics, and that is why I believe we’ve had such an outpouring of support during this early part of the governor’s campaign,” Conway said in the statement.

While Conway is the only Democrat to file for governor, Republicans James Comer, Kentucky’s agriculture commissioner, and Louisville businessman Hal Heiner have entered the fray. Former U.S. Senate candidate Matt Bevin and former U.S. ambassador to Latvia Cathy Bailey are among names of possible GOP contenders.