Boerio, Reschenthaler campaigns post spending in new 14th Congressional District
First-term state Sen. Guy Reschenthaler, the Republican candidate in the new 14 th Congressional District, outpaced Democrat Bibiana Boerio in campaign fundraising by a nearly 2-to-1 ratio and through September had spent more than Boerio pulled in during that same period, campaign finance reports show.
The reports, released Tuesday, showed Guy for Congress, Reschenthaler’s campaign committee, had taken in $825,887 in contributions as of Sept. 30. That compared with $487,549 raised by Boerio for Congress.
Through September, Reschenthaler’s campaign spent $572,914 in the district where he, like Boerio, is a political newcomer. Boerio, making her first bid for elected office, spent $253,118.
The district includes about two-thirds of Westmoreland County and all of Fayette, Washington and Greene counties. Although Democrats have a voter registration edge of about 36,600, the district as now constituted gave Donald Trump a 29-point margin of victory in the 2016 presidential election.
Boerio, 64, of Unity, a retired Ford Motor Co. executive who was active in last spring’s special election for Democratic newcomer Conor Lamb, has self-funded more than half of her campaign to date. She contributed $163,620 of her own money to her campaign and loaned it $102,500. During that same period, she received $199,500 in individual contributions and $22,000 from political action committees, including the $4,000 from the National Education Association and $1,450 from Deep Blue PAC.
Reschenthaler, 35, of Peters Township, Washington County, is in his third run for elective office. He has won election as a district judge and then won a special and regular election to the state Senate in a district almost entirely in Allegheny County.
The lawyer, a former naval prosecutor, proved a strong draw for the Pennsylvania GOP when he pulled in nearly $1.3 million in contributions from Republican PACs in 2016 in his first bid for a full term in the state Senate. Some of the PACs that have together contributed $402,490 to his congressional campaign include the American Bankers Association, $5,000; International Union of Operating Engineers, $5,000; the Laborers’ International Union, $5,000; the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, $3,500; the National Rifle Association, $1,000; and the Coal PAC, $1,000.
Reschenthaler pulled in $400,215 in contributions from individuals and loaned his campaign $23,000.
Deb Erdley is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Deb at 412-320-7996, derdley@tribweb.com or via Twitter @deberdley_trib.
