Fresh off the news that Republican challenger Bill Hudak was suspending his campaign, congressional candidate Richard Tisei has another reason to feel optimistic - the man knows how to raise cash.

Reports from the final quarter of 2011 show that the $301,540 Tisei raised was almost twice as much as incumbent Congressman John Tierney's nearly $160,000 raised that quarter.

Making this comparison even more staggering is the fact that Tisei was only officially a candidate for the last seven weeks of the quarter.

Tisei, a Republican from Wakefield, is seeking the Sixth Congressional District seat in Congress. Tierney, a Democrat from Salem, has held the seat since 1997.

Both Hamilton and Wenham are in the Sixth Congressional District.

Republican Bill Hudak of Boxford had been set to face Tisei in a Republican primary in September. But Hudak announced last month that he was suspending his campaign but would return in 2014. Tierney defeated Hudak in 2010.

Following the PAC

The cash Tisei has raised has been from individuals, according to filings, while a large part of Teirney's donations have come from political action committees and public unions. When measuring just individual contributions, Tisei raised more than four times as much money than Tierney.

"John Tierney has been entrenched in Washington for a long, long time," Tisei said in a statement Thursday. "That’s why most of his financial support is coming from his friends there and not from Massachusetts. This is just one more sign that it’s time for him to ‘retire.’”

Tisei took the funding news opportunity to dig even deeper into his general election target, aiming to brand Teirney as a product of Washington establishment and the infamous K Street lobby circuit.

“Too bad for John Tierney that Washington lobbyists don’t get to vote in our Congressional elections, because it looks like a large amount of his support is coming from there,” Tisei said.

Tisei campaign spokesman Paul Moore said the Tisei campaign is not, however, pledging to not accept PAC money.

Incumbents usually don't see an uptick in individual campaign contributions, however, until the general election season starts and the incumbent is fully immersed in a campaign against a specific opponent.

The Long Haul

While quarterly reports show immediate trends and periodic donation overviews, an equally important factor is cash-on-hand, which shows how much money a candidate actually has saved up and how much a candidate has after money already spent. Tisei's campaign has about $262,000 cash on hand, which means they have already spent at least $40,000.

"The [Teirney] campaign has $545,616 cash on hand, and raised more than $160,000 last quarter," Teirney campaign spokesperson Kathryn Prael said. "John continues to receive widespread support from across the district and will have the resources necessary to run and win in November. He remains committed to meeting with local families across our community, and continuing his efforts to create jobs and revive our economy."

It is likely that the flow of campaign funds will look quite different in a few months when the general election campaign is in full swing. But Tisei's impressive December contribution haul supports his reputation as a powerhouse fundraiser and could raise the stakes in the 2012 6th District election.