Democrat Lauren Jewett raised at least $423,000 during the third quarter of 2026, according to newly announced campaign totals and previous federal filings, bringing her cumulative fundraising to more than $675,000 in her challenge to House Majority Leader Steve Scalise.
The New Orleans special education teacher announced Thursday that her campaign had raised approximately $566,000 through September 30, followed by nearly $110,000 more during the first two weeks of October. Her campaign reports receiving 31,620 contributions from 21,367 donors, with an average contribution of approximately $21.
The numbers mark a substantial acceleration in fundraising for Jewett, whose campaign previously reported approximately $142,700 in total receipts through July 18. That puts her fundraising between July 19 and September 30 at more than $423,000, with the full third-quarter total potentially higher.
The cumulative fundraising is particularly noteworthy when compared with previous Democratic campaigns against Scalise in Louisiana’s heavily Republican 1st Congressional District.
In 2018, Democratic challenger Tammy Savoie raised approximately $266,000 over the course of her campaign. Katie Darling, who challenged Scalise in 2022, raised approximately $152,000, while Mel Manuel raised roughly $75,000 during the 2024 election cycle.
Jewett has now raised more than twice Savoie’s total, more than four times Darling’s and approximately nine times Manuel’s, according to a comparison of her campaign’s announced figures with historical Federal Election Commission records.
Her campaign says 98% of its previously reported receipts came directly from individual contributors and that it has accepted no contributions from corporate political action committees or lobbyists.
“I teach kids for a living. I know what twenty dollars means to a family in this district,” Jewett said in a statement Thursday. “When thousands of people give what they can to a teacher running against one of the most powerful Republicans in Congress, that says something.”
Jewett, who has taught in New Orleans public schools for 17 years, has campaigned throughout the district’s eight parishes, focusing on rising insurance costs, health care access and affordability. Her campaign has also criticized Scalise for not participating in candidate forums in the district during the current election cycle.
Scalise maintains a significantly larger fundraising operation, although his updated third-quarter figures were not yet made available on the FEC’s website as of Thursday morning. His campaign previously reported approximately $10.6 million in cumulative receipts and $3.9 million in cash on hand through July 18.
Still, Jewett’s fundraising represents a significant departure from the comparatively modest budgets of recent Democratic challengers in the district. With fewer than three weeks remaining before Election Day, her campaign has assembled a level of grassroots financial support rarely seen in a Democratic challenge to Scalise.