From a press release just out…

Today, David Vitter announced that he has raised more than $5.2 million for his campaign to be Louisiana’s Governor. Vitter raised more than $1.1 million this quarter and has $4.2 million cash on hand. David Vitter for Louisiana had more than 2400 contributors this quarter, and 8000 total.

“We are getting an incredible response all across Louisiana who want to join our campaign to build a brighter future for Louisiana,” Vitter said. “We face enormous challenges in Louisiana. But if we meet them head on – with strong leadership and real solutions – we can take advantage of historic opportunities and make great gains. This outpouring of support gives us real momentum to accomplish our goals.”

Vitter held a commanding lead in fundraising at the end of 2014 with $4.1 million raised. Since the end-of-year reports, Vitter has raised over $1.1 million and has had successful events across the state. Vitter has raised a total of $5.2 million.

It’s hard to assess Vitter’s numbers in a historical context, because the last time we had an actual contested governor’s race was 2013 – and 12 years ago there just wasn’t all that much money spent in politics.

Kathleen Blanco won the 2003 governor’s race in 2003 and she spent $3.1 million. Vitter has already spent a million bucks and he’s got $4.2 million left to go, with the busiest fundraising quarter yet to come.

We haven’t seen the numbers from John Bel Edwards, Jay Dardenne or Scott Angelle yet. All three should show some decent performance. None are likely to have the kind of receipts or war chest that Vitter is showing.

UPDATE: Vitter’s Super PAC has some pretty mind-blowing numbers to report as well…

The Fund for Louisiana’s Future, a political action committee supporting U.S. Senator David Vitter and his conservative reform agenda for Louisiana, announced today that it raised more than $680,000 from January 1st to April 17th of this year.  FFLF has raised more than $4.6 million to date.

The Fund also will report holding more than $3.5 million in cash on hand as of April 17th.

“We are incredibly encouraged by the generous support the Fund has received in 2015, which builds upon the groundbreaking support received in 2014.  We believe Senator Vitter has the vision and conservative reform agenda that will unleash Louisiana’s creativity, prosperity and opportunity,” said Charlie Spies, Founder of the Fund for Louisiana’s Future.

Of the more than $4.6 million raised by FFLF, two-thirds of the contributions came from the state of Louisiana.

The Fund for Louisiana’s Future also announced additions to its leadership team:

Nicole Licardi has joined FFLF and serves as FFLF’s Finance Director.  Licardi previously served as fundraiser for Bill Cassidy’s U.S. Senate race in 2014, and continues as a fundraising consultant for him as U.S. Senator.

Respected Louisiana strategists Jason Hebert and Scott Hobbes of The Political Firm in Baton Rouge have also joined the FFLF team.  Notable current and former clients of Hebert and Hobbes include: U.S. Reps. Steve Scalise and Charles Boustany, Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain, Secretary of State Tom Schedler, and Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne.

The Fund for Louisiana’s Future is also pleased to announce that Joel DiGrado has joined as Executive Director of the PAC’s efforts.   DiGrado has a record of winning major statewide races in Louisiana, most recently as Campaign Manager for U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy’s successful challenge to three-term incumbent Mary Landrieu.  DiGrado previously served as Deputy Executive Director of the Louisiana Committee for a Republican Majority, which played a major role in electing the first Republican majority in Louisiana’s legislature since Reconstruction.

“The Fund for Louisiana’s Future’s ability to attract the top political talent in Louisiana for our independent efforts to support David Vitter is a testament to the broad and growing support for Vitter’s leadership and conservative reform agenda,” added Spies.