In the first three weeks of her campaign against Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-Va.), Democrat LuAnn Bennett raised $281,000 from 274 donors, her campaign announced Monday.

Comstock raised $527,000 in the last three months of the year and has raised $2 million this election cycle, underscoring the challenge Bennett faces in this race.

Bennett, a real estate executive, is running for office for the first time and did not launch her bid until mid-December. But she has political ties. She has donated over $70,000 to Virginia Democrats, and her ex-husband is former representative Jim Moran (D).

Bennett has $265,000 in cash on hand. Comstock has not yet released her detailed numbers. As of October, however, she had over $1 million in the bank.

The district Comstock represents is notoriously independent. Although she won in 2014 by a wide margin, the presidential race will probably make for a more competitive race in the fall. She has been campaigning aggressively to keep her seat and has bucked her party on several votes involving regional transportation and pay for federal workers.

Democrats argue that far more often, she votes with Republicans. Bennett has already begun highlighting Comstock’s votes to cut federal funding for Planned Parenthood and repeal the Affordable Care Act.

“Northern Virginians are frustrated with a Congress that’s dysfunctional and a Congresswoman who prioritizes partisan goals over solving problems,” Bennett campaign manager Adam Zuckerman said in a statement. 

Fairfax County Supervisor John Foust (D), who ran against Comstock in 2014, also announced his bid the December before the election and raised $210,000 in his first few weeks of campaigning (excluding personal money he invested). The circumstances were different: It was not until a week after Foust launched his campaign that Rep. Frank R. Wolf (R) announced his intent to retire. Comstock did not get into the race until the following January.