Ovide brings in just over $180K

Republican Senate hopeful Ovide Lamontagne announced on Monday that he raised $181,093.67 in the fourth quarter of 2009, his first as a candidate. Lamontagne has a little more than $150,000 on hand.

Lamontagne Senior Advisor Jim Merrill said, “Ovide’s numbers today reflect the beginning of a vibrant, grassroots campaign.”

Interestingly, Merrill was tough on Ovide rival Kelly Ayotte for raising more than three times that amount in her first quarter as a candidate. “It was the bare minimum of what she had to do,” Merrill said at the time of Ayotte’s $614,000 haul.

Merrill also announced the support of former U.S. Senator Gordon Humphrey.