Hill outraises Bullock for 2nd straight month

HELENA (AP) — Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Hill outraised his Democratic opponent, Steve Bullock, for the second straight month as the campaigns heated up for the Nov. 6 election.

Monday was the deadline for campaign finance reports from candidates for statewide office for the period from Aug. 6 through Sept. 5.

Bullock, the first-term attorney general, has significantly more cash to spend in the remaining months, and he has started to use it in an advertising blitz.

Hill, a former congressman, reported raising $229,349 for the month. His campaign reports spending $116,745 in that period, leaving him with $436,617 cash on hand.

Bullock raised $190,195, which includes $6,439 in in-kind donations. His campaign spent $231,941, mostly on television ads, and he still has $782,786 in the bank.

In the attorney general's race, Republican Tim Fox topped Democrat Pam Bucy in the latest round of fundraising.

Fox, who ran for the job in 2008 against Bullock, reported raising $86,000 for the month and a total of $232,000 for his campaign. Bucy, who used to work as a prosecutor in the AG's office, raised $57,000 in the month for a total of about $270,000 for the campaign.