U.S. Senate race: Cantwell has $4 million in bank

U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell’s campaign released its campaign contribution reports from the last quarter of 2011 which shows it had just over $4 million “on hand” as of Dec. 31.

(On hand makes it sound like the money is sitting around on someone’s desk, or in a wall safe at campaign headquarters, but it’s really the Federal Election Commission’s term for in the bank.)

She raised about $1.3 million in contributions in the last three months of the year and spent about $521,000. Most of the money at this point is coming from individuals — she picked up $3,000 from Democratic party groups and $6,500 from other political committees in the fourth quarter.

Cantwell, a Democrat seeking her third term, has two announced Republican challengers, state Sen. Mike Baumgartner of Spokane and Art Coday, a Shoreline physician. Neither have filed reports yet for the final quarter of 2011.