Democrat Orman starts Senate campaign with large cash infusion

? The Democrat hoping to unseat Kansas Republican Sen. Pat Roberts is off to an impressive start in the money race.

Businessman Greg Orman’s campaign says he already has about $450,000 in cash on hand.

Orman hauled in that amount in less than four weeks in December after he launched his campaign.

Democratic Party spokeswoman Jenny Davidson says most of that money came from individual donors, with only $6,000 from Orman’s personal funds.

His haul is still well behind Roberts, who has more than $2.7 million in the bank at the end of 2007.

Orman’s complete campaign finance report with details on money raised and spent will not be available until next week. Quarterly fundraising reports for federal candidates are due at the Federal Election Commission by Jan. 31.

Orman, 39, plans an official campaign kickoff in the coming weeks. The Olathe resident is a managing director at Denali Partners LLC, a private equity firm. He previously founded Environmental Lighting Concepts, a company that helped businesses become more energy efficient.

In a statement, Orman said he’s disappointed by “the inaction, infighting and ineffectiveness on display” in Washington.

Roberts has been aggressive in raising money for his re-election campaign this year, fearing that Orman may decide to spend his own money on the race.