By John Mulligan
Journal Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy raised almost $756,000 last year to campaign for a ninth term in Congress - roughly triple the contributions to his Republican opponent.

Rhode Island Democrat Kennedy has more than four times as much campaign cash on hand -- almost $452,000 - as challenger John Loughlin, a state representative from Tiverton, according to a year-end report filed Thursday with the Federal Election Commission. The Kennedy campaign outspent the opposition last year by a factor of better than 5-to-1.

Kennedy's war chest bears other hallmarks of a powerful veteran's reelection effort. A large fraction of his 2009 donations came from political action committees --
the fundraising arms of unions, corporations and other interest groups - whereas Loughlin got only a few hundred dollars from "PACs,'' as they are known.

Kennedy also drew the great bulk of his money from individual citizens in increments bigger than $200, the sum that triggers the legal requirement for public disclosure through the FEC. Loughlin, by contrast, depended mainly on contributions from smaller donors, solicited by mail or on the Internet. He filed his report to the FEC on Wednesday.

The Kennedy campaign took in almost $197,000 during the last quarter of 2009, compared to about $87,000 for Loughlin, according to their federal reports.