In campaign money race, congressional challenger DeSpain competitive with Hoyle 

Republican congressional candidate Monique DeSpain raised more campaign cash in the last reporting period than her Democratic rival, incumbent U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle.

DeSpain, an attorney and retired Air Force colonel, is staying competitive in the money race as she runs a second time against Hoyle, who is seeking reelection to a third two-year term in the 4th Congressional District.

DeSpain has three entities affiliated with her campaign — Monique for Congress, Team Monique, a joint fundraising committee, and Over the Target, a political action committee. Across all three, DeSpain raised $253,723 in the last quarter, campaign filings show. Joint fundraising committees are used for purposes like multiple candidates organizing the same event together for donors; these committees can donate to other candidates as well.

The period covers April through June contributions, which are filed in two installments — one report in May, before the primary election, and another in July to cover May and June activity.

DeSpain’s total also includes $30,000 she loaned to her campaign. Loans are a common practice among candidates seeking office as they raise cash to reach voters and get their message out.

DeSpain’s total, including the loan, is $30,391 more than Hoyle’s campaign raised during the same period. 

Hoyle’s campaign reported raising $223,332, most of it through her campaign’s fund and $117 through a separate joint fundraising committee.

The measure of where both candidates stand with money in the bank — cash on hand — shows Hoyle ahead by a little more than $11,000. At the end of June, DeSpain reported $512,650 cash on hand, and Hoyle reported about $523,802, most of it in her campaign account.

DeSpain’s total cash on hand includes her official campaign account and what’s available in her joint fundraising committee.

In a statement, DeSpain said the fundraising of the past few months shows strong momentum.

“I am grateful for the outpouring of support from every corner of our district,” she said. “Outraising an incumbent is not an easy task, and it is a testament to the undeniable momentum we have in this race.”

There are multiple ways in looking at campaign finance figures, partly because candidates have the option of setting up joint fundraising and leadership committees to raise money. That gives them additional pools of money to tap.

Hoyle’s campaign, in comparing its own fundraising with DeSpain’s, focused on the money raised only in the official campaign funding accounts for the last quarter, and it discounted DeSpain’s personal loan. Excluding DeSpain’s personal loan and factoring in only the campaign accounts, Hoyle’s campaign estimates the incumbent raised about $13,000 more than DeSpain.

“I’m grateful for the support my campaign has received from people who want a representative that will fight for them every day,” Hoyle said in a statement. “This campaign is about making life more affordable, creating good-paying jobs in Oregon, protecting our democracy, and pursuing policies that make our communities safer — not wasting taxpayer dollars on endless wars. I will continue working every day to earn the trust and support of the people of Oregon’s Fourth Congressional District.”

Besides Lane County, the district includes Benton, Coos, Curry, Lincoln counties and northern Douglas County. 

In the general election two years ago, DeSpain secured nearly 44% of the vote in a four-way race, while Hoyle had nearly 52% of the vote, winning by nearly 8 percentage points.

At this point in 2024, the gap between both campaigns’ fundraising was wider than it is now. Hoyle’s campaign reported $851,822 cash on hand in July 2024, while at the same time DeSpain had $192,576.85 cash on hand, campaign filings from 2024 show. 

In April through June 2024, DeSpain’s campaign reported raising nearly $280,000, while Hoyle’s campaign reported raising $356,204, filings show.