Cassidy has $735,000 in the bank

If there were any Democrats waiting in the wings last year in preparation for taking on freshman Congressman Bill Cassidy, they didn’t raise any money. Campaign finance reports for the final quarter of 2009 were due to the Federal Election Commission on Sunday, and Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, was the only politician in the 6th Congressional District to file. Moreover, Cassidy’s report reveals his campaign has a whopping $735,000 in the bank, which exceeds the holdings of all other Louisiana House members and is the second highest among freshman House Republicans, according to National Journal’s House Race Hotline. From October to December, Cassidy collected more than $161,000 in donations, of which 96% came from individuals in Louisiana; 65% of that total can be traced to the Baton Rouge region. Cassidy was surpassed in fund-raising only by Rep. Anh “Joseph” Cao, R-New Orleans, who put together an impressive $247,000 — and spent it all — during the last quarter in what many consider to be the most contested House race in the nation. In a prepared statement issued this morning, Cassidy said he was grateful for the support. “I have worked to bring the ideas and values of our district to bear in Congress,” he says. “People vote with their dollars, and this shows a lot of votes for limited government, free enterprise, and individual opportunity.” — Jeremy Alford