Philadelphia campaigning, TV ads sap Zappala's campaign cash in attorney general contest

Aaron Aupperlee
Friday, April 15, 2016 4:12 p.m. | Friday, April 15, 2016 4:12 p.m.

Senate race

Campaign finance reports in Pennsylvania's U.S. Senate race were due Friday to the Federal Election Commission.

Only former admiral and Congressman Joe Sestak had filed as of 5:30 p.m.

Three Democrats are running for their party's nomination to challenge U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Lehigh Valley, in November.

Sestak raised $625,024 between Jan. 1 and April 6, his latest federal filing showed. That increased his total raised in the Senate race to nearly $4.7 million. Sestak had $1.7 million cash on hand, the filing showed.

Sestak is running against Katie McGinty, the former head of Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection, and Braddock Mayor John Fetterman.

A spokeswoman for Katie McGinty said
$1.8 million was raised, increasing her total raised in the race to $3.7 million. She had $951,000 cash on hand, her campaign said. Her report was not available on the FEC website.

Fetterman's report was not available and his campaign didn't return a message.

A spokesman for Toomey said the first-term senator raised nearly $2.5 million during the same period, bringing his cash on hand to nearly $9.2 million.

— Tom Fontaine

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Montgomery County Commission Chair Josh Shapiro has nearly 10 times the money of his main rival as the Democratic primary campaign for state attorney general enters its final weeks.

Shapiro reported having nearly $1.1 million in the bank as of Monday, according to campaign finance statements due Friday.

Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. reported having about $118,000 in his campaign account, having spent $1.15 million on television advertisements.

While the Zappala campaign looked to be low on funds, Marty Marks, Zappala's campaign manager, said fundraising has been brisk since Monday's cutoff for these filings.

“We are raising money at a very good pace,” Marks wrote in an email to the Tribune-Review. “We have brought in more than $300,000 since then and anticipate, based on pledges, to have more than enough money to close out the primary with a win and have cash on hand to kick-start the general election.”

Shapiro, Zappala and Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli are vying for the Democratic Party's nomination. The primary election is April 26.

Morganelli had about $367,000 in the bank, according to his report. He raised nearly $98,000 between March 7 and April 11 and spent nearly $338,000. His fundraising and spending has trailed Shapiro and Zappala throughout the race.

Shapiro's full report was not available on the Department of State's website Friday. His campaign provided a copy of the top sheet. The sheet showed Shapiro raised about $653,000 between March 8 and April 11, bringing his total to nearly $2.5 million. He spent $1.4 million.

Zappala, who has campaigned heavily in Philadelphia and surrounding areas, raised nearly $477,000 between March 8 and April 4, bringing his campaign's total to nearly $1.5 million. He spent about $1.36 million, with $1.15 million of it buying TV advertisements.

Zappala received the bulk of his donations from unions. The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 98 in Philadelphia donated $130,000, according to the filing.

John Dougherty, the union's business manager and a labor leader in Philadelphia, has been helping Zappala's campaign from the start. Zappala's father, Stephen A. Zappala Sr., a retired state Supreme Court chief justice, endorsed and appeared in a TV advertisement for Dougherty's brother, Supreme Court Justice Kevin Dougherty, during his successful election run in 2015.

Zappala Jr. gave $120,000 of his own money to his campaign. He previously donated $200,000.

State Sen. John Rafferty of Montgomery County and Joe Peters, a former federal and state prosecutor, are seeking the Republican nomination for attorney general.

Rafferty raised nearly $157,000 between March 8 and April 11 and spent about $58,000. He had about $241,000 left in the bank.

Peters reported raising about $22,000, spending nearly $14,500 and having $11,000 left.

Aaron Aupperlee is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 412-320-7986 or aaupperlee@tribweb.com.

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