Super PACs line up behind Lazer and Lunkenheimer campaigns
Two super PACs supporting candidates in the hotly contested Democratic primary for Pennsylvania’s Fifth Congressional District filed documents this week indicating they would collectively be spending more than $218,000 pushing their preferred candidates.
The first and larger of the expenditures is a $200,000 ad buy from Middle Class PAC supporting Philadelphia’s former Deputy Mayor of Labor Rich Lazer. The second was an $18,000 expenditure for mailers supporting former federal prosecutor and health care advocate Ashley Lunkenheimer made by Progress in PA-05. Both filings were made with the Federal Election Commission Monday.
Super PACs, also called independent expenditureonly committees, are allowed to raise and spend unlimited sums on political campaigns as long as they do not coordinate with a candidate.
The Middle Class PAC was formed last month and immediately received a $200,000 cash injection from the politically powerful International Brotherhood of Electricians Local 98. It was unclear Wednesday where the money for the Progress in PA-05 PAC came from. The committee has not yet filed contribution data and emails to a listed address on registration forms were not returned.
A spokesperson for the Lunkenheimer campaign declined to comment. Her committee had more than $306,000 cash on hand as of Mar. 31, while Lazer’s had less than half that, at $136,451, according to FEC data.
Lunkenheimer and Lazer are considered strong candidates in the crowded field of Democrats seeking the nomination in the May 15 primary election. Other Democrats in the running are pro-bono attorney Mary Gay Scanlon of Swarthmore; former Morgan Stanley wealth manager Lindy Li of Malvern; South Philadelphia scientist Dr. Molly Sheehan; Opioid Crisis Action Network founder Larry Arata of Haverford; Chester Mayor Thaddeus Kirkland; entrepreneur Theresa Wright of Norristown; and state Reps. Greg Vitali, D-166 of Haverford, and Margo Davidson, D-164 of Upper Darby.
The winner will face the sole Republican candidate on the ballot, Pearl Kim of Radnor, a former Delaware County assistant district attorney and former state attorney general senior deputy counsel.