Indiana Gov. Holcomb keeps padding huge campaign cash lead

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb has continued adding to his already huge campaign cash advantage over his potential Democratic rivals.

New state campaign finance reports filed Wednesday show the Republican governor raised nearly $2 million in the last six months of 2019, leaving him with about $7.25 million in the bank for his 2020 reelection bid. Holcomb already had $6 million in his campaign account at the middle of last year as he's leveraged leading a GOP-dominated state without any high-profile Democratic challengers.

Holcomb's campaign touts his available cash as a record amount for any Indiana governor heading into a reelection year.

The governor's fundraising dwarfs that of the two Democratic candidates, health care business executive Woody Myers and tech business executive Josh Owens.

Myers reported raising $180,000, while Owens raised $84,000. Both candidates said they planned to start more aggressive fundraising, with Myers recently announcing he had hired a top fundraiser for Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear's successful 2019 campaign.

Democratic voters will pick their party's nominee in the May primary.

State Sen. Eddie Melton of Gary reported raising $60,000 for his gubernatorial campaign before dropping out of the race last week.

The largest campaign fund of any Democratic gubernatorial candidate belongs to 2012 and 2016 nominee John Gregg. He has about $360,000 left over from his 2016 campaign but didn't collect any contributions during the past year.