WASHINGTON -- Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski raised more than $900,000 in the third quarter of this year, leaving her with nearly $3 million on hand for next year's Senate race.
The cash-on-hand total is the most of any federal candidate in Alaska history, according to Murkowski's campaign team, which released the numbers to Alaska Dispatch News before filing the totals with the Federal Election Commission on Thursday.
"Senator Murkowski continues to break records and fundraise at an impressive rate," said Scott Kendall, campaign coordinator.
When it comes to fundraising, the senior senator has barreled ahead, even more than a year out from Election Day, with no likely strong challenger in sight. She pulled in just over $1 million last quarter and has plans to go after more.
Murkowski was scheduled to attend a fundraiser Wednesday night at the home of Cam and Michelle Toohey in Anchorage, according to the Sunlight Foundation's fundraising party tracker.
And she'll join the rest of Alaska's Republican delegation -- Rep. Don Young and Sen. Dan Sullivan -- at a salmon bake for the Alaska Republican Party Federal Victory Fund on Oct. 21.
Murkowski wants to avoid the dramatic turn her 2010 campaign took with a surprise primary election loss to Joe Miller, which led to a historic write-in campaign. Murkowski garnered about 10,000 more votes than Miller in the general election, for a 4 percentage-point lead.
Just before the 2010 primary, she had $1.8 million on hand. Miller was holding $84,200 at the same time.
When Republicans took control of the Senate in 2014, Murkowski took over as chair of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee -- a plum spot for drawing energy industry donations.
"As the chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Senator Murkowski is fighting for issues important to the state and is pushing back against the Obama administration's reckless job-killing, anti-Alaska agenda," Kendall said.