Candidates running in primaries for two open seats in the Hamilton County legislative delegation amassed nearly $127,000 in contributions for the second quarter of 2018, according to campaign finance disclosure statements.
And that doesn't include two candidates in District 28 who have not made second-quarter reports.
Four of the six District 28 candidates raised $59,191.57 for the March-June quarter, while the four District 30 candidates reaped $67,692.59.
And that includes one candidate - independent J. Michael Holloway in District 30 - who reported no money raised, spent or on hand.
Open seats, according to a 2017 report by the National Institute on Money in State Politics, are more monetarily competitive (26 percent) than seats held by incumbents (15 percent).
In 2015 and 2016, the report noted, only 12 of 115 general election legislative races in Tennessee were monetarily competitive (where the top fundraiser took in no more than twice the amount of the next highest fundraiser).
In the two aforementioned districts, both are monetarily competitive for the primary and are likely to be so for the general election in November. If that proves to be the case, it would be the first time a general election in District 28 will be monetarily competitive in many years.
In District 28, Democrat Melody Shekari raised the most second-quarter money - $27,975 - of the four reporting candidates, but the most second-quarter money - $28,930.59 - of any Hamilton County candidate running for a House seat was raised by Joda Thongnopnua, who is unopposed for the Democratic nomination in District 30. Just behind them was Republican Esther Helton, who collected $26,576 in an effort to win her two-way primary in District 30.
Only four years ago, Republican state Rep. Marc Gravitt, who is giving up the District 30 seat to run for Hamilton County register of deeds, had no opposition in the primary or the general election in seeking a then-open legislative spot.
The open District 26 seat, which currently pits Republican Robin Smith against Democrat David Jones, also could be monetarily competitive in the fall. Smith, who filed to run in late June for the seat suddenly vacated by state Rep. Gerald McCormick, quickly raised $11,600 within a few days. Her total outstripped that of Jones, who had raised $10,160 over the entire quarter.
But if Smith is ruled eligible to stay on the ballot by the Hamilton County Chancery Court, Democrats may attempt to make the seat a cause célebré and boost Jones' total.
It appears the other two seats, District 27, where Republican state Rep. Patsy Hazlewood is the incumbent, and District 29, where Republican state Rep. Mike Carter holds the seat, may not be as monetarily competitive.
In District 27, Hazlewood had more than $156,000 on hand at the start of the quarter and raised $10,260, almost exclusively from political action committees (PACs). Her opponent, Democrat Brent Morris, had no money and raised no money.
In District 29, Carter had just over $59,000 but raised no money. His opponent, Democrat Tammy Magouirk, had $42.01 on hand and raised $125.
Of candidates still in the race, Helton was by far the biggest spender in the quarter with $43,942.63, more than $17,000 above what she took in. Yusuf Hakeem was second, having spent $21,695.13, nearly $2,000 more than was contributed to him (if a $3,500 loan he made to the campaign is not counted). Thongnopnua was third with $19,633.58.
McCormick, who started the quarter with more than $103,000, expended more than $50,485.64 before leaving the race for a job in Nashville. The former House majority leader had considered running for speaker of the House, so some of his contributions - including $16,000 to 17 House candidates - may have been to curry favor for a potential run.
He also contributed $2,000 to the gubernatorial campaign of Randy Boyd and $1,000 to the campaign of Hamilton County school board member Joe Smith.
Robin Smith's Rivers Edge Alliance company also made out well before she entered the race, getting $13,000 from McCormick and $6,500 from Hazlewood in the second quarter and $2,308.92 from Helton in the first quarter of 2018. She also contributed to other candidates, giving $250 to Republican Lemon Williams in District 28 and $450 to Helton.
The top six individual contributions were $7,500 to Thongnopnua from Iron Workers Local 704, $6,000 to Hazlewood from the Tennessee Highway Contractors PAC, $5,000 to Hazlewood from the WSWT PAC, $3,750 to Helton from MAC-PAC, $3,000 to Smith from BOW PAC (the political action committee of state Sen. Bo Watson) and $2,500 to Hakeem from Iron Workers Local Union 704.
Several candidates also seeded their campaigns with their own money, with Hakeem loaning himself $3,500 (and more than $11,000 for the campaign), Williams $3,744.57 and Jones $2,069.19.
Neither Dennis Clark nor Brandon Woodruff, both in District 28, have filed second-quarter reports.