SC race for Congress was close. But can Democrat raise as much cash for a 2nd run?

Sumter tax attorney Archie Parnell said Tuesday his campaign has raised nearly $340,000 since he announced his second bid to represent South Carolina’s 5th District in Congress.

Parnell’s campaign has brought in $339,853 since Oct. 9, when the Democrat said he would run again for the congressional seat in 2018, according to year-end figures.

That total includes a $100,000 loan from the candidate, plus individual donations from just under 2,000 others. The campaign said it spent $120,000 in the same time period.

“With this strong fundraising quarter and the continued help from people who are ready for a change, we will once again have the resources to put up a strong fight in this district and take this seat back for the people,” Parnell said in a statement.

Parnell ran for the 5th District seat in a 2017 special election held after U.S. Rep. Mick Mulvaney resigned to join the Trump Administration. The Democrat narrowly lost — by only 3 percentage points — to current U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, R-York. In the four months of that campaign, Parnell raised $1,047,353.

Norman has not yet filed his fourth-quarter fund-raising numbers. He had raised $97,303 as of Sept. 30 for his 2018 re-election bid.

This story was originally published January 16, 2018 at 4:47 PM.