Democratic U.S. Senate challenger Joe Sestak has $5.3 million on hand after raising $442,000 in 2010’s first three months, his campaign said Thursday.

It’s the third successive fundraising quarter that Sestak, trying to knock off incumbent Democrat Arlen Specter, has raised less money in than before. He raised $750,000 in last year’s third quarter and $650,000 in the fourth before collecting another $200,000 less so far this year.

He spent roughly $240,000 in January, February, and March.

Still, the candidate, who has yet to run TV ads, has more than enough money to aggressively hit the airwaves in the campaign’s final four weeks before the May 18 primary. Its strategy, according to a spokesman, is working perfectly.

“We knew what we needed for the final weeks of the campaign and hit that on January 1,” said Jonathon Dworkin, in a statement. “Since then, Joe focused on meeting with Pennsylvanians and has held more than 450 events throughout the state. The strategy has worked, as the race has now tightened, forcing Specter to go on the air earlier than he planned, and where we have $5.3 million on hand for media at the right time — more than anyone has ever raised as the challenger.”

Specter’s campaign revealed Thursday it had raised $1.16 million and had just over $9 million on hand, meaning he has nearly double the amount of money available as his challenger.

Tags: Joe Sestak, Joe Sestak for Senate

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