National

Texas Democrat MJ Hegar, famous for her viral video, dusts her opponent in fundraising

WASHINGTON — MJ Hegar's viral "Doors" video has opened lots of wallets.

Hegar, a Democrat and war hero making a long-shot bid for Congress from Texas, raised $1.1 million during the April-to-June fundraising quarter, according to a report her campaign filed Sunday with the Federal Election Commission.

More than $700,000 landed in the 10 days following the release of her attention-getting campaign video in June. (The video had more than 5 million views on Facebook and YouTube combined as of late Sunday afternoon.)

Hegar's haul is more than four times the nearly $267,000 collected over the three-month period by Rep. John Carter, the eight-term Republican she's trying to unseat. She also has more leftover cash stockpiled in her campaign's bank account for the general election: $867,266 to Carter's $537,561, the filings show.

Hegar's movie trailer-like video traces the Air Force veteran's path from a little girl at her mother's side, fleeing domestic abuse to helping save her team from Taliban capture after the Medevac helicopter she piloted was shot down in Afghanistan. It chronicles the closed "doors" she pushed open in her life to become a pilot, earn a Purple Heart and force the Pentagon to change its rules to allow women to serve in ground combat.

Hegar's donors in June included the billionaire philanthropist and businesswoman Laurene Powell Jobs, who gave $2,700.  Her late husband Steve Jobs co-founded Apple.

Seth Klarman, a Boston hedge fund billionaire who has switched his allegiance from Republicans to Democrats, also donated $2,700 to Hegar last month, records show.

EMILY's List, which works to elect female Democratic candidates who support abortion rights, announced Friday that it would back Hegar's bid.

But Hegar faces a steep climb. Carter won his last election by nearly 22 percentage points. The Cook Political Report, an independent political handicapper, rates the outcome as "likely Republican."