U.S. Representative Tim Walz estimates at the beginning of each new House term how much money he thinks he’ll need to win re-election the following year and when he plans to raise it.
This year, after a barrage of ads from outside groups almost cost him his seat last November, the Minnesota Democrat accelerated his fundraising. He raised $207,373 during the first three months of 2011, a 32 percent increase from what he took in during the same period two years earlier, Federal Election Commission records show.
