Baldwin raised more than $2 million in Q1 2012

Baldwin announces fundraising numbers for Q1 2012 via Twitter (screenshot by Chris Johnson)

Lesbian Rep. Tammy Baldwin has raised more than $2 million over the course of the first quarter of 2012 in her bid to become the first openly gay person elected to the U.S. Senate.

In a message via Twitter on Wednesday, Baldwin announced she secured $2 million from 24,260 supporters who “fueled” her campaign.

Additionally, she said she’s in a “strong position” with $2.7 million in cash on hand and more than 40,000 individual supporters for her campaign.

“The support for our campaign to fight for the middle class and stand up to the powerful special interests is humbling and invigorating,” Baldwin writes in a subsequent tweet.

Baldwin, who currently serves as a U.S. House member, is seeking to replace Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), who’s retiring from the Senate at the end of this year. She’s the presumptive Democratic nominee because no other Democratic candidate has declared an interest in the race.

Republicans who are also in the running — former Gov. Tommy Thompson and Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald — made no announcements about their fundraising numbers on their Twitter accounts. According to the National Journal, former Rep. Mark Neumann raised $650,000 in the first quarter of this year.

In the previous cycles, Baldwin has blown away the GOP candidates in terms of fundraising. At the end of last year, Baldwin had raised $2.5 million, while Thompson raised $657,000 and Neumann raised $826,000.

Baldwin also leads in terms of polling data. According to the National Journal, an NBC News/Marist Poll published last week found that Baldwin leads a generic Republican candidate in the race 45 percent to 40 percent.

The candidate is set to be the featured speaker at the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund’s annual national campaign brunch, which will take place Sunday at the Washington Hilton.