Rhoden raises just $16K in first quarter

U.S. Senate hopeful Larry Rhoden turned in his weakest fundraising performance so far in the first quarter of 2014.

The state senator and rancher took in just $15,988 from January through March, leaving him with $78,097.94 in the bank, said Rhoden's political director Aaron Pilcher in a text message. Rhoden also has $6,982.56 in campaign debt.

That fundraising total is less than half Rhoden's total in the fourth quarter of 2013, when he raised $37,740. In a partial third quarter of 2013, Rhoden raised $62,550.

Rhoden started the quarter with $72,862 in the bank and $4,996 in debt, meaning he increased his bank account slightly despite the fundraising slowdown.

But the quarter only puts Rhoden further behind frontrunner Mike Rounds, who had his best quarter in the beginning of 2014, taking in $730,000. Rounds has more than $1 million in the bank -- not earth-shattering numbers on a national level, but far more money than any of the other U.S. Senate candidates in South Dakota have.

Annette Bosworth, Stace Nelson, Jason Ravnsborg and Rick Weiland have yet to disclose any first-quarter fundraising. Independent candidate Larry Pressler took in less than $10,000, according to the Associated Press.

Here's a spreadsheet comparing fundraising performances from a variety of South Dakota candidates.

UPDATE: It is worth noting that both Nelson and Rhoden spent a majority of the past quarter fulfilling their duties in the South Dakota Legislature.