Why is Mark Udall -- one of the Senate’s most powerful surveillance reformers -- hurting for tech sector cash?

Out in Colorado, Mark Udall (D-CO) is finding himself financially outmatched by his Republican opponent: Rep. Cory Gardner raised some $1.3 million in the first half of this month, reports the Associated Press. Sen Udall raised just more than half that. Udall has far less cash on hand than Gardner, too. Yet the race is quite close. Sen Udall is polling at 43 percent to Gardner's 46 percent, which just barely puts the Republican's lead beyond the margin of error. And that presents an intriguing angle on the race for those of us who obsess over tech policy.

Sen Udall is known as one of Congress's most vociferous advocates for reforming how government, and the National Security Agency in particular, conducts its surveillance programs. He has been for years. And changing how the NSA works is one of the technology world's top priorities. So while Udall's political future is up to Colorado's voters, of course, how is it that Sen Udall is hurting for cash when tech is one of the country's wealthiest industries?