State Rep. Steve Huffman, with more than $500,000, leads fund-raising efforts among the five Republicans in the Congressional District 8 race.

Money for advertising could help Giffords as she faces six contenders in the Sept. 12 Democratic primary.

The field includes Patty Weiss, who built name recognition by working for three decades as news anchor at KVOA-TV.

"It shows that the campaign is gaining momentum, and we're bringing new people on board," said Giffords' campaign manager, Rodd McLeod.

Giffords hasn't raised as much as expected or enough to win, said Weiss campaign spokesman Andrew Myers.

"Everyone said it's going to take Gabrielle three times as much money to build up the name recognition that Patty has," he said.

Weiss has raised about $320,000, second to Giffords among Democrats.

Giffords and Huffman also led fund-raising efforts in the first quarter of the election cycle.

The Tucson Citizen asked campaigns for contribution totals Friday if they weren't submitted to the commission early.

Most contributions haven't been spent because candidates are planning advertising blitzes before the primaries and November's general election.

"It costs a lot of money to run a congressional race," Huffman said. "You can't run a successful congressional campaign without money."

Donations also provide a good measure of interest in a campaign, he said.

But donations aren't the only measure of support, said R.T. Gregg, campaign manager for Randy Graf. Graf has raised about $292,000, second among Republicans in the race.

"Randy is taking more of a grassroots approach," Gregg said. "What we lack in money, we will make up for in people."

Libertarian candidate David Nolan said he had not yet raised $5,000.