A turbulent few weeks and hard-hitting attacks have done little to change one of the lingering realities of the Pennsylvania Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate: John Fetterman has a crucial financial lead.
The lieutenant governor has more than three times as much money as U.S. Representative Conor Lamb for the final month of the primary, according to an Inquirer analysis of campaign disclosures filed Friday, a key factor since polls already show Fetterman far ahead.
The financial upside is even bigger than it first appears, although Lamb reported its best fundraising quarter yet. Indeed, a significant portion of Lamb’s campaign funds can only be used in the November general election, not the May primaries.
Even considering the super PAC that backs Lamb, Fetterman has more than twice as much to spend as Lamb and his allies — despite having already spent more than both.
Democrats watching the primary believe Fetterman’s cash advantage is a huge hurdle for Lamb and State Representative Malcolm Kenyatta, as they must both increase their own support and bring Fetterman down, a costly proposition in a state where campaigns rely heavily on television advertising.
Fetterman had $4.2 million in the bank as of March 31, compared to $2.2 million for Lamb. But just looking at the money available for the primary, Fetterman has $3.9 million to about $1.2 million for Lamb, according to the Inquirer analysis.
That’s because $970,000 of Lamb’s fund is earmarked for the general election, reflecting his reliance on big donors whose contributions often exceed the $2,900 limit that can be used in the primary. The rest goes into its general election fund.
Fetterman raised $3.1 million in the first three months of the year and spent $4.3 million as the campaign took on new intensity. As usual, Fetterman relied on small donors, with more than half of his receipts in this report coming from people who gave less than $200.
Lamb raised $1.74 million during the same period, its best quarter yet, and spent about $2.5 million. More than 80% of its funds came from donors who gave more than $200.
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Kenyatta continued to struggle to raise funds, despite polling better than many expected. He raised $306,000 and had $271,000 left for the final weeks of the primary.
Penn Progress Inc., a Lamb-supporting super PAC, helped close the spending gap with Fetterman by disbursing $1.1 million on Lamb’s behalf, and $833,000 remained in the bank.
The group had promoted an ambitious goal of raising $8 million. It’s come a long way so far, raising just $1.9 million.
About 40% of that amount came from donors in Pennsylvania, with most of the rest coming from Massachusetts, California, Connecticut and New York.
Among the 51 PAC donors were Constance Hess Williams, a former state senator from Montgomery County; Joshua Bekenstein, CEO of Bain Capital; and Thomas B. Hagen, who runs Erie Insurance. All three donated $250,000 each.