Is Barry Hinckley’s Senate Campaign on Life Support?

If it’s true that campaign donations determine a candidate’s success then Barry Hinckley might be in some early trouble. The rookie Republican who is challenging progressive Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse for his seat in the Senate seems to be inflating his fundraising prowess a bit.

In a press release earlier this week, Hinckley’s campaign said he “put up another great fundraising quarter” saying he was able to raise “about $275,000.”

Well, not exactly.

Today’s Providence Journal sheds a little additional light on just how much money Hinckley raised. In fact, almost 40 percent of the money he raised this quarter was actually a loan to himself. “Second-quarter campaign-finance reports that show he raised $164,629 and lent his campaign $100,000 during the quarter that ended June 30,” reports Randal Edgar.

He spent more than $155,000 – or, only $9,000 less than he got in actual donations.

By comparison, Hinckley raised $314,000 in the first quarter and didn’t loan himself any money. (Prior to the first quarter, he loaned his campaign $50,000.) That means he took in about half as much in donations this quarter as he did last quarter.

Are even Republican donors abandoning Barry Hinckley? Either way, this isn’t what I’d call a great fundraising quarter.