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Reports: Personal funds help some New Mexico congressional candidates

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— Congressional candidates in New Mexico have pumped nearly $900,000 of personal money into their campaigns to provide an early fund-raising boost.

At least a half dozen candidates loaned money to their campaigns from October through December, according to the latest campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.

This year's congressional races are crowded because no incumbents are seeking re-election to New Mexico's three seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. The incumbents are running for U.S. Senate.

Candidates for the 2nd Congressional District in southern New Mexico had the largest amount of money in their campaign accounts by year's end. Republicans and Democrats reported combined cash balances of $1.1 million in their campaigns.

That's about twice as much reported by candidates for Congressional District 1, the seat being vacated by Rep. Heather Wilson. None of the Albuquerque-area candidates who filed elections reports are among those who loaned money to their own campaigns, the FEC reports.

Some candidates did not launch their campaigns until early this year, which was after the disclosure period for the most recent FEC reports.

Candidates must file a report in April on their contributions and spending during the first three months of the year.

Here are campaign finance summaries, by congressional district, for candidates with filed FEC reports. The figures cover the fourth quarter of last year:

1st District, Republican

• Darren White received $212,885 in contributions. The leadership PACs of U.S. House GOP Leader John Boehner and the No. 2 GOP congressional leader, Roy Blunt, each gave $5,000. White's campaign spent $40,327 and had a year-end cash balance of $172,558. White is the Bernalillo County sheriff.

1st District, Democrat

• Martin Heinrich reported total receipts of $144,975, including contributions from Democratic congressional leaders. The PAC affiliated with House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer gave $5,000 and the PAC of New York Congressman Charles Rangel, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, contributed $5,000. Heinrich's campaign spent $82,152 and a cash balance of $277,146. Heinrich is an Albuquerque city councilor.

• Michelle Lujan Grisham collected contributions of $115,891. A PAC affiliated with Lt. Gov. Diane Denish contributed $500 and the PAC of the GEO Group gave $2,500. The state contracts with GEO Care, part of the Florida company, to operate a Department of Health medical center. The state houses inmates in the company's privately operated prisons in New Mexico. Grisham is a former state health secretary in Gov. Bill Richardson's administration. Her campaign spent about $20,100 and reported a cash balance of $95,791.

No reports were available from the FEC for other 1st District candidates: Republican Joseph Carraro and Democrats Rebecca Vigil-Giron, Jessica Wolfe and Robert Pidcock.

Campaign finance reports on candidates in Congressional Districts 2 and 3 are available at Federal Election Commission.