Pa. election 2024: The powerful interests bankrolling critical row office races

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HARRISBURG — As unions, interest groups, and Pennsylvania’s richest man pour millions into the critical election for attorney general, the state’s two other row office races have attracted far fewer dollars in the months leading up to Nov 5.

Money doesn’t always determine outcomes in these critical-but-low-interest races. In 2020, two virtually unknown Republicans won upsets over better-funded opponents for auditor general and treasurer. Democrats want those positions back, though only one of the party’s candidates is outraising the incumbent.

In the open contest for attorney general, the Democratic candidate raised millions of dollars over the summer, while wealthy donors and national political action committees bankrolled TV ads to boost his Republican opponent.

In the race for treasurer, the outsider Democratic candidate has struggled to build a campaign chest, while the Republican incumbent has scooped up donations from unions traditionally aligned with the other party.

In the comparatively quiet race for auditor general, the Republican incumbent has raised far less than the Democratic challenger, who is getting robust support from labor and some wealthy donors.

Democratic consultant Anne Wakabayashi noted that even the strongest fundraising in these races pales in comparison to the money the presidential and U.S. Senate elections are attracting.

“None of them are really raising the kind of money — except for maybe the attorney general race — that you can launch a very serious statewide media campaign,” Wakabayashi said.

Missing from the political giving — so far — is Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, whose campaign account has nearly $5 million on hand. After he cruised to victory in 2022, Shapiro’s PAC donated $275,000 to the state House Democratic Campaign Committee, but it hasn’t made any other contributions this election cycle.

Manuel Bonder, who serves as a spokesperson for both Shapiro’s campaign and administration, told Spotlight PA that the governor “has endorsed and campaigned for Democrats in key races all across the Commonwealth, and as he continues to support pro-freedom candidates up and down the ballot this fall, he will be making contributions to help them win in November.”

The race for attorney general

Democratic attorney general candidate Eugene DePasquale raised nearly $3.3 million between May 14 and Sept. 16, the most recent campaign finance cycle. The national Democratic Attorneys General Association contributed nearly half of the total.

His opponent, Republican Dave Sunday, reported raising a much smaller amount — a little less than $1.4 million — but he’s getting a significant boost from wealthy donors.

Nearly $12 million in statewide TV ads are booked on Sunday’s behalf through Nov. 5. Sunday’s campaign spent $1 million for this purpose, while a PAC associated with the Republican Attorneys General Association is independently spending $5.4 million.

Another PAC — this one almost exclusively bankrolled by Jeff Yass, Pennsylvania’s richest person — is spending another $5.4 million on ads in cooperation with Sunday’s campaign.

Such spending must be reported as an in-kind contribution. Sunday’s campaign did not report the Yass-backed ads in its latest finance report. DePasquale accused his rival of trying to hide the association, while Sunday’s campaign said it received information about the value of the ads too late to include it.

While both candidates have raised sizable war chests, they still need to work on blanketing the state with their names and messages, said Sam Chen, a Lehigh Valley-based political consultant who works with Republican clients.

He believes Sunday has less name recognition than DePasquale, who previously served in a statewide office as auditor general and won his crowded primary easily thanks to that profile.

“There is a name deficit that [Sunday] has to make up, and I don’t know if he’s been super effective,” Chen said.

The Democratic Attorneys General Association gave DePasquale more than $1.5 million during this campaign finance cycle, both in the form of campaign checks and by funding polling and opposition research.

Outside of national dollars, DePasquale leaned on traditional state Democratic funding sources, including organized labor and trial lawyers.

Unions — including those representing trade workers, government employees, and health care workers — donated more than $680,000. Attorneys, either through individual checks, their firms, or PACs associated with their trade groups, gave DePasquale more than $300,000.

The rest of DePasquale’s cash came from individual donors and interest groups. Among the most notable checks were $50,000 from Thomas Hagen, the billionaire chair of Erie Insurance; $25,000 from New York City grocery magnate and occasional GOP mayoral candidate John Catsimatidis; and $8,000 from two relatives of liberal billionaire George Soros.

Much of DePasquale’s reported spending went to media buys. According to political ad tracking data, he bought a little less than $3 million in ads running statewide from June to November.

Sunday’s campaign has spent less. It paid a York-based real estate group $10,000 for “reimbursements,” the biggest expense this cycle. The campaign also paid the group smaller sums for yard signs and consulting.

The race for auditor general

The auditor general’s race attracted the least cash during the recent campaign finance cycle.

Malcolm Kenyatta, a Democratic state representative from Philadelphia, raised more than $491,000, while Republican incumbent Tim DeFoor of Dauphin County brought in just under $68,000.

DeFoor has received most of his funds from a mix of establishment Republican sources, including well-connected Philadelphia law firms and Harrisburg lobby shops.

His biggest donation was a $10,000 check from Building Together PAC, which has traditionally funded Bucks County Republican candidates and was founded by former SEPTA board chair (and beverage distributor) Pat Deon.

DeFoor also received a $5,000 check from Scranton insurance millionaire Charles Volpe and $1,000 from former GOP Gov. Mark Schweiker.

Chen said DeFoor’s finances don’t spell disaster, but noted that having less money can make campaigning across Pennsylvania more difficult. Candidates want to be able to blanket the state with their platform, Chen said, but with the amount DeFoor has raised, he’ll have trouble sustaining his presence.

“A lot of that can change in this last month, but you want to be spending this money in the last month, not raising it,” Chen said.

In 2020, DeFoor also raised little money until the final weeks of the election, when he got a $1.2 million boost in outside spending, much of it funded by Yass.

DeFoor’s expenditures were mostly small — no significant ad buys, for instance — with the biggest payments going toward political consulting from groups like Long Nyquist, which is providing communications and other services for DeFoor’s campaign.

Kenyatta, who has built a national brand as a young, upstart Democrat, raised far more — $491,000. This includes a little more than $180,000 from unions for government workers, electricians, and carpenters.

Kenyatta also received money from national groups that back young, LGBTQ, and progressive candidates for office. That includes $10,000 from the Human Rights Campaign, $5,000 from the Working Families Party — a progressive third party mostly active in urban areas — and $5,000 from Vote Save America PAC, which has its roots in a media company founded by Obama administration alumni.

Beyond PACs, Kenyatta received money from former Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, as well as from a handful of LGBTQ entrepreneurs and celebrities, including $2,000 from comedian Wanda Sykes.

Kenyatta spent $184,000 between May 14 to Sept. 16. The biggest single check — $53,000 — went to Washington, D.C.-based Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research for polling and research. Much of the rest was on travel, including airfare, gas stations, Uber rides, hotels, and meals across the commonwealth and out of state.

The race for treasurer

There is a notably different financial dynamic in the race for treasurer.

Democratic candidate Erin McClelland won her primary in an upset against the party-endorsed candidate and has since publicly clashed with the establishment.

When Shapiro was in the running to be Kamala Harris’ vice president pick, for instance, McClelland said she did not support him as a choice. State Sen. Sharif Street (D., Philadelphia), the party chair, said he was “offended” by McClelland’s remarks.

However, McClelland denies any tension with the state party, adding that she’s coordinated with them throughout her campaign.

“Any slight insinuation that there were issues there, that would be incorrect,” McClelland told Spotlight PA.

She raised just under $90,000 this cycle. Like Kenyatta, her biggest donor was AFSCME, a union that represents municipal, county, and state workers. Also like Kenyatta, much of her $52,000 in campaign spending has covered travel costs like gas, meals, and parking.

Her Republican opponent, incumbent treasurer Stacy Garrity, raised almost $450,000 during the same period, showing a wide base of support within — and outside — her party.

Alongside checks from energy companies, real estate tycoons, and business advocacy groups, Garrity received more than $86,000 from trade unions that have historically backed Democrats in statewide elections. Most of that money came from the regional and state chapters of the Laborers’ International Union of North America, which represents construction workers.

Garrity also received support from major figures in her party— something McClelland lacked.

That includes donations from arch-conservative 2022 gubernatorial nominee and state Sen. Doug Mastriano (R., Franklin). Other notable supporters included perennial Republican power player and chocolate company owner Bob Asher; top GOP lawyer Matthew Haverstick; and 2018 party gubernatorial nominee Scott Wagner.

Garrity spent almost $280,000, of which about $120,000 went to three Pennsylvania-based consultants — most notably $60,000 to Pittsburgh-based GOP consulting firm ColdSpark for a mix of services, from fundraising to yard signs.

She’s also paid $37,000 to McKean Strategies, a company based in the eponymous rural northwestern county, as well as almost $24,000 to the Jenkinstown-based KC Consulting.

The day after the reports were filed, Garrity’s campaign accused McClelland’s of improperly filing its finance form, citing a repeated donation of $10,000 from IBEW Local #5.

“If McClelland can’t get this right, why should voters trust her to oversee $150 billion in taxpayer money?” Jim Tkacik, Garrity’s campaign manager, said in a news release.

McClelland said her campaign initially reported the contribution on an earlier finance report but moved it to the most recent report to reflect when the check was deposited, rather than when it was received. The Pennsylvania Department of State confirmed that the reports were amended.

Her campaign was also accused of improperly filing finance reports during the primary, though the Department of State found no laws were violated.

McClelland called the accusation by Garrity’s campaign an effort to “deflect” from the issues of the race.

She added that the large difference between how much her campaign and Garrity’s raised doesn’t “bother me at all.” McClelland noted that Garrity was significantly outraised and outspent when she won her election against Democratic incumbent Joe Torsella in 2020.

Spotlight PA’s Katie Meyer contributed reporting for this story.

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