Toomey’s Senate run raises $8.3M

Sestak has yet to report figures; McGinty still undecided

Arming for his 2016 reelection battle, U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., continued his robust fundraising pace in the second quarter of the year.

The freshman Republican raised $2.2 million in the three-month reporting period that ended on June 30. That gave him a cash balance of $8.3 million 16 months before he is due to face the voters.

The Toomey campaign shared its latest numbers with reporters Wednesday. His only current rival for re-election, retired Adm. Joe Sestak, had yet to publicly report his second-quarter receipts, but they were expected to be dwarfed by the incumbent’s figures. Mr. Toomey has raised more than $2 million in each of the first two quarters of the year. That compares with the $1.7 million in total cash on hand that Mr. Sestak had at the end of the first quarter. A press aide to the Democrat declined to share his latest receipts, which were due to be filed at the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday.

Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski made a shortcircuited bid for the Democratic Senate nomination, but he suspended his campaign after reports emerged that the FBI had raided his city hall in connection with an investigation of Allentown’s financial practices. Mr. Pawlowski said that rather than campaigning, he was concentrating on assisting the federal probe.

Mr. Sestak lost narrowly to Mr. Toomey in 2010. The sharp disparity in his fund-raising compared with Mr. Toomey is one of the reasons cited by some Pennsylvania Democrats who have been casting around for other potential challengers.

Katie McGinty, Gov. Tom Wolf’s chief of staff, is weighing the possibility of entering the race, and Mr. Wolf has said that she will decide shortly whether to challenge Mr. Sestak or to stay on in Harrisburg. Ms. McGinty finished fourth in last year's Democratic primary for governor.