Westrom raises $84,000 for race against Peterson

Republican U.S. House candidate Torrey Westrom raised $84,000 in December in his bid to unseat Democratic U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson in the state’s conservative-leaning Seventh District.

Westrom, an attorney and state senator, announced his candidacy in early December, which means he didn’t have the full fundraising period, which included the final three months of 2013, to rake in donations.

Citing a “tremendous surge of support” in just over three weeks as an official candidate, a release from Westrom’s campaign indicates that 97 percent of his contributions came from Minnesotans.

“I am humbled by the overwhelming amount of support I’ve already received from my neighbors,” Westrom said in a statement.