NEW ORLEANS -- As the new incumbent Republican Congressman from a reliably Republican district, U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise may be the favorite to win re-election, but it looks as though he'll get an expensive fight from a self-financed Democrat.

Steve Scalise

The latest campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission show political newcomer and businessman Jim Harlan with $554,378 in cash on hand as of June 30, including a loan to himself of $525,000.

Scalise has $87,627 on hand after raising and spending more than $1.1 million as he breezed to victory in the May race for the District 1 House seat Bobby Jindal left when he became governor.

Scalise got 75 percent of the vote against Democrat Gilda Reed in that race. He's the only Republican running for the seat in this fall. Harlan will face another Democrat, Vinny Mendoza of Kenner, in the Sept. 6 party primary. Mendoza had no reported contributions as of Tuesday afternoon. The reporting deadline was midnight Tuesday.

In other Congressional races of note, incumbent Rep. Donald Cazayoux, a Democrat who this past spring won a seat held for decades by Republicans until incumbent Richard Baker resigned, reported $26,428 in cash on hand after a $1.5 million campaign. He will be unopposed in the party primary but will face Republican state Sen. William Cassidy and state Rep. Michael Jackson, who is running as an independent, in the general election for the District 6 seat. Cassidy's report was not available; Jackson, who ran as a Democrat for the seat in the spring, reported more than $26,000 in cash on hand after raising $94,000 and spending $67,000.

In House District 7, Republican Incumbent Charles Boustany reported raising more than $684,000 in the six-month period ending June 30, with more than $461,700 in cash on hand. The report of Democratic state Rep. Don Cravins Jr., who is challenging Boustany, had not been posted but Cravins, in a news release, said he had raised over $100,000 in the first week of his campaign.

There will be party primary battles in District 4, where incumbent Republican Jim McCrery is leaving office. Among Republicans, Chris Gorman holds the fund raising edge with $368,930 compared to $253,125 for his GOP rival John Fleming; Paul Carmouche is way out in front of his Democratic rivals, having raised $111,933 compared to $28,907 for Willie Banks and $22,275 for John Milkovich.

Indicted incumbent Democrat William Jefferson of New Orleans reported raising $111,512 during the first quarter of fund raising -- the congressman's second quarter efforts have not been reported as of yet -- with $57,212 in cash on hand and $256,000 in debt. State Rep. Cedric Richmond, a Democratic challenger, had raised $211,800 in the second quarter, including a $100,000 loan, with cash on hand of $193,905. Former television reporter Helena Moreno, another Democratic candidate had not posted any contributions as of Tuesday afternoon, nor had any of the other eight of Jefferson's challengers.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)