What controversy? Warren raised $8.6 million in second quarter Elizabeth Warren raised the fundraising bar even more in the second quarter, pulling in $8.6 million for her Massachusetts Senate campaign despite a controversy over her past claims to Native-American heritage. The quarter is the best to date for the Democratic fundraising star, who has consistently outraised Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) since launching her campaign and is one of her party's top hopes for stealing a GOP seat. There had been some question about whether the controversy would slow her down; Warren struggled over the course of several weeks to explain when and why she claimed to be Native American. Instead, she turned in another of the biggest fundraising quarters in Senate history. The campaign also reported $13.5 million cash on hand. Brown has not yet reported his totals for the second quarter. The race remains tight, with most recent polling showing it within the margin of error. Few Senate candidates have raised money as big and as consistently as Warren. In 2010, Nevada GOP Senate candidate Sharron Angle turned in one $13-million quarter, and Hillary Clinton and Rick Lazio trumped Angle's numbers during their 2000 New York Senate tilt, which drew gobs of national attention. The Brown-Warren race may surpass Clinton-Lazio as the most expensive Senate race in history. Not including Brown's second quarter report, he and Warren have raised about $44 million so far for the 2012 campaign; Clinton and Lazio raised and spent about $70 million.