Political fundraising in Alabama goes into high gear

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - Statewide elections are still more than a year away, but candidates are busy raising money. The Anniston Star reported Sunday that state finance records show more than $11 million has been raised since June - when candidates first became eligible to receive contributions for their 2014 campaigns. The newspaper says Republican candidates have picked up $6.8 million of that cash, while Democrats garnered only $861,000. Political action committees pulled in $6.3 million over the same time period. The numbers come from Alabama's new all-digital campaign finance reporting system, which was launched in June. The state's top-spending PAC was A-VOTE, an affiliate of the Alabama Education Association. The biggest corporate spender was the Drummond Company, a Birmingham-based coal company that has given $464,000 to PACs and candidates this year