More than a year out from the 2022 congressional primary, candidates in the Nashville-based 5th Congressional District are off to a hot start. Both incumbent Democratic Rep. Jim Cooper and primary challenger Odessa Kelly have reported hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations between April and June.
Cooper, who was first elected to Congress in the 1980s, reported raising $580,226.87 in the quarter and spending just under $60,000. He still has nearly $800,000 on hand. It’s a significant increase from the same period in 2019, when he raised $159,000 as he faced the prospect of multiple Democratic primary challengers.
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