By Maynard Eaton / STAFF

State Sen. Kasim Reed leads the three top candidates for Atlanta mayor in total fundraising but he has also spent the most in an effort to build his name recognition, according to campaign finance reports filed last week.

With less than three weeks to go until the Nov. 3 contest, the three frontrunners remain unchanged: City Council President Lisa Borders, councilwoman Mary Norwood and Reed.

Each has raised more than $1 million in the quest for the city’s top job, but Reed topped them with more than $1.4 million in his coffers.

“It looks like the surest thing we can say is that there’s going to be a runoff,’’ said University of Georgia political science professor Charles Bullock. “Mary Norwood has been consistently ahead, although her lead has shrunk. The most interesting part right now is who finishes second. Kasim Reed is moving up, but is he moving up fast enough to catch Lisa Borders?’’

Reed raised the most money during the third fundraising quarter, according to the latest campaign disclosure reports filed last week.  His new total eclipsed Norwood, who was the fundraising leader but now reports a total of $1.3 million. Borders has raised more than $1.1 million.

But Reed has also spent the most, nearly $1.2 million so far - including more than $669,000 last quarter-and now has the least cash on hand, about $213,000. Though he has been a state legislator for a decade, he had little local name recognition when he entered the mayoral race.

REED RAISES AND SPENDS, BUT OTHERS STAY AHEAD

“He’s made up a huge amount of ground,’’ said state Sen. Vincent Fort, whose district includes Atlanta and who is a Reed supporter. `”He raised more and spent more to get to where he is.’’

Fort said his fundraising momentum is likely to continue between now and Election Day, and that those dollars should translate into votes.

This week, Reed launched a second television commercial, featuring former Atlanta mayor and U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young, whose endorsement he received in August.

Norwood, who has held an at-large city council post since 2001, currently has the most cash on hand- more than $620,000- but raised the least last quarter, just over $312,000. She was the last of the three frontrunners to hit television airwaves this week.

“She’d been raising money longer than the others, so she’d already gotten the bulk of her funds, probably,’’ said former Atlanta mayor Sam Massell, a Norwood supporter and president of the influential Buckhead Coalition. “Mary Norwood has been and will be in first place. She’s been campaigning for 71/2 years and she’s good at it.’’

Borders, who dropped out of the race last fall, but re-entered in April, has raised the least amount of money, but she has more than $233,000 in cash on hand, more than Reed. Bullock said Borders is likely holding on to a tenuous second place.

“It does look like Reed is moving up and she may be moving down a little bit,’’ Bullock said. “She may be paying a price for that period where she was out of the contest. It’s kind of hard to sit on the bench for a while and come back into the game. That probably cost her some momentum.’’