(From The Morning Call, April 7, 2010)
By JOHN L. MICEK
Republican Attorney General Tom Corbett raised more money for his gubernatorial bid in the first three months of 2010, but Democrat Dan Onorato has a bigger campaign war chest, according to records filed Tuesday with the Department of State.
Onorato, the Allegheny County executive and one of four in the Democratic primary field, raised $1.1 million during the first quarter of 2010, spent $662,000 and had $6.7 million left after expenses.
”We are confident we will be able to continue to educate voters about Dan’s record as county executive and his vision for Pennsylvania,” Onorato’s campaign manager, Kevin Kinross, said in a statement.
Corbett, a two-term attorney general who’s one of two people seeking the GOP nomination for governor during the May 18 primary, raised $1.77 million between Jan. 1 and March 29. He spent $943,000 and had $4 million left on-hand.
”It’s never easy,” Corbett’s campaign manager, Brian Nutt, said of the perpetual scrounging for campaign dollars. ”There’s a lot of work that goes into it.”
Corbett listed $58,000 worth of in-kind contributions, in which a good or service, but not cash, changes hands. He reported a debt of $3,230.
Onorato listed $34,147 worth of in-kind contributions.At least part of
Onorato’s money paid for a trio of campaign advertisements — the first of the primary season — that began airing across Pennsylvania last week. But Onorato won’t have the airwaves to himself for long.
Today, Democratic state Sen. Anthony Williams of Philadelphia is expected to launch his own air war.
Williams, who made a surprise entry into the governor’s race in January, raised $1.71 million, spent $201,833 and had $1.5 million left on-hand as of March 29.
Records showed that almost all of Williams’ contributions — $1.63 million — came from political action committees. Two school choice groups, the Philadelphia-based Students First PAC and a group called Democrats for Education Reform, gave a total of $1 million to Williams’ campaign.
A further $600,000 came from Williams’ own coffers. He contributed $100,000 from his own Senate re-election funds and $500,000 from a political action committee he runs called ”Make a Difference PAC,” spokesman Mark Nevins said.
Auditor General Jack Wagner, a Democrat from Pittsburgh, raised $219,337 during the March 29 reporting period. He spent $222,660 and had $673,127 left on-hand, records showed. Wagner also listed an in-kind contribution worth $19,973.
Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Hoeffel, the fourth Democrat in the gubernatorial field, raised $239,498, spent $377,000, and had $101,582 left at the end of the reporting period. Hoeffel listed $18,114 worth of in-kind contributions.
Despite the anemic take, Hoeffel’s spokeswoman, Lauren Townsend, said the suburban Philadelphia Democrat is in the race to stay.
”This is a grass-roots campaign,” she said.
Corbett’s rival for the Republican nomination, Rep. Sam Rohrer, R-Berks, raised $172,000 and had just $7,000 left at the end of the reporting period.
Despite lagging in fundraising, Rohrer’s spokesman, Jeff Coleman, insisted his boss will remain competitive through the end of the campaign.
”We have what we need in pledges, on-hand and what we expect to raise to fill out our plan,” he said.