Kennedy Raising Millions For Congressional Bid

BOSTON (AP) — Democratic congressional hopeful Joseph Kennedy III is raising millions in donations as he pursues the seat currently held by outgoing U.S. Rep. Barney Frank.

Kennedy's campaign said Monday that he collected nearly $1.3 million in the past three months. That left him with about $2 million in his campaign account as of the end of June.

That puts Kennedy well ahead of his two Republican challengers, Sean Bielat and Elizabeth Childs.

Bielat reported collecting $218,000 in the past quarter and had more than $165,000 in his campaign account as of the end of June.

Childs, a former state mental health commissioner, reported ending June with just over $26,000 in her account.

Bielat said he wasn't worried about the fundraising gap with Kennedy.

"We have a specific strategy to win this race that doesn't just rely on money," Bielat said in a written statement. "We do not need to go dollar for dollar against Kennedy. We can't, and we won't."

Kennedy is the son of former U.S. Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II and grandson of the late New York U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy.

If Kennedy is successful it would mark the return of a member of the Kennedy family to Congress for the first time since Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island left the U.S. House last year.

Patrick Kennedy's decision not to seek reelection marked the first time in 63 years no one with the Kennedy name was serving in elected office.

Frank, a Democrat, announced last year that he planned to retire at the end of his current term, his 16th in Congress.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.