Coons lends his war chest $250,000

WASHINGTON -- More than one-third of the money Chris Coons' Senate campaign took in last quarter came from Coons himself.

The New Castle County executive and his wife, Annie, loaned the campaign $250,000, bringing his total receipts for April through June to $701,443, according to a report he filed with the Federal Election Commission.

He ended the quarter with $953,534 in the bank, compared with $2.6 million for his likely opponent, Rep. Mike Castle, R-Del.

"He's in trouble," said Samuel Hoff, a Delaware State University political science professor. "I would say that even if the national trends tilted towards the Democrats. That's just not a lot of money."

Coons took out the line of credit with a 4.5 percent interest rate from WSFS Bank in Wilmington on June 30, the last day of the quarter, according to the report. For collateral, he pledged $500,000 in stock -- two days after Vice President Joe Biden held a $1,000-a-plate fundraiser for Coons with about 150 people attending.

Biden, who held the Senate seat for decades, called Coons "a guy who I would be proud to call senator."

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