5 things we learned about candidate fundraising this week

Money talks, as the saying goes. And the latest fundraising reports, covering October through December, tell a lot about the Arizona candidates running for Congress in 2016.

Here are five takeaways:

Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu leads the money race in the six-way Republican scramble for the 1st District.

His nearly $310,000 haul was from two to four times larger than his competitors' totals. But his reports have some problems. And oilman Gary Kiehne boasts the most sitting in the bank by far, about $530,000, thanks in large part to loads of his personal money.

Big Republican donors such as Randy Kendrick (wife of Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick), Jim Click (the mega car dealer) and the Farnsworths (housing developers) hadn't chosen sides in the 1st District as of the end of 2015.

It's still early, so they could weigh in with fat checks in the coming months.

U.S. Rep. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., is still a fundraising colossus.

Not only has she raised the most in Arizona this election, $3.2 million in about a year, she has collected more money than any House candidate in the country except for Speaker Paul Ryan and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy. With so many contributions coming in, she's also cleaning up reporting errors.

Democrat Matt Heinz, who hopes to unseat McSally in the 2nd District, faces a tough road to match her haul.

His fundraising is pretty impressive for a challenger. Counting out Kiehne's wealth-driven warchest, Heinz has the most cash on hand of a non-incumbent — about $305,000 — and far more than his Democratic opponent Victoria Steele, who has less than $45,000.

U.S. Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., has better things to do than call donors.

Safe and sound in his West Valley district, Franks raised a pittance, less than $40,000, on the last report and in five years hasn't cracked $100,000 in a quarter, as most of his colleagues do. We guess his friends in Congress are jealous.