McCormick lends his campaign another $1M; Casey has a big cash advantage
Political strategists expecct the race to be one of the most expensive in the nation
WASHINGTON Former hedge fund CEO David McCormick lent his U.S. Senate campaign another $1 million while incumbent Democrat Bob Casey entered the spring with almost twice as much to spend.
Mr. McCormick, who earlier floated a $1 million loan, lent himself another $970,900. He also spent almost $4,900 of his own money on campaign travel. He had opened his checkbook to the tune of $14.4 million during his unsuccessful run for the GOP Senate nomination in 2022.
He raised $8.8 million through April 3, about half of it since Jan. 1, and had $6.2 million cash on hand.
Mr. Casey has raised $23.8 million for his re-election, including $5.7 million since Jan. 1, and had $11.9 million in the bank. Both candidates raised more than $5 million from Jan. 1 to April 3, according to federal campaign finance records released Thursday.
The filings were released in advance of the April 23 Pennsylvania primary.
Political strategists expect the race, which may help determine which party controls the Senate, will be among the most expensive and competitive in the country. A benchmark may have been set in 2022, when then-Lt. Gov. John Fetterman raised more than $75 million and Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz more than $50 million, with more than $200 million combined flooding into the race in outside spending, according to the research group OpenSecrets.
Mr. Casey and Mr. McCormick started hitting the airwaves and social media with their first ads earlier this month. Mr. Casey was ahead, 46% to 39%, in a poll released April 3 by Franklin & Marshall College. According to an average of polls tracked by Real Clear Politics, the senator maintains an edge of 5.7 percentage points over Mr. McCormick.
The AmericanIsrael Public Affairs Committee helped raise $176,000 for Mr. Casey, while J Street PAC helped raise $72,000. Other groups in finance, real estate, health care, manufacturing and tech raised thousands of dollars for the senator, including PACs for the General Motors Corp., National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts, Morgan Stanley, CVS Health and Microsoft Corp.
Major expenditures included more than $700,000 with Middle Seat, an advertising and fundraising firm for progressive candidates, and at least $400,000 with RWT Production, a Virginiabased direct mail firm.
The Republican Jewish Coalition PAC raised almost $50,000 for Mr. McCormick, who also received PAC contributions from the American Bankers Association, Wawa the Manufacturer and Business Association PAC, and the leadership PACs of Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.C., and former House Speaker Paul Ryan, RWis. —RWis.
A PAC launched by Mr. McCormick raised more than $1 million last year, thanks largely to a donation from Pennsylvania’s richest person, GOP mega donor Jeffrey Yass.
TheMcCormick campaign has spent more than $775,000 on media consulting with Maryland-based On Message Inc., and $ 200,000 with ColdSpark, the Pittsburghbased political consulting and advertising firm.
The senator’s first campaign ads highlight his fight for legislation that expanded health care for veterans and his recent push to combat price gouging and to roll back corporate tax breaks. President Joe Biden put Mr. Casey’s effort to curtail “shrinkflation” — higher prices for less product — in the national spotlight during his State of the Union address.
Tiernan Donahue, Mr. Casey’s campaign manager, said in a statement earlier this month that the senator’s supporters “know he is facing the most competitive and expensive race of his career, and they are standing together to make sure we have the resources we need to keep this seat.”
Mr. McCormick’s first ads highlight his days as a champion Pennsylvania wrestler and as a West Point graduate and veteran, and focused on a lack of leadership in Washington — without naming Mr. Casey.
“Pennsylvanians from across the commonwealth are joining the movement to elect Dave McCormick, a 7thgeneration Pennsylvanian, combat veteran, and [Pennsylvania] job creator who will bring new leadership and fresh ideas to the Senate,” McCormick spokeswoman Elizabeth Gregory said after the campaign announced its first-quarter haul earlier this month.