- U.S. Rep. Susan Wild raised more than $440,000 over the summer, leaving more than $1.1 million in her campaign war chest
- Among the Republicans hoping to oust her, state Rep. Ryan Mackenzie raised the most with nearly $127,170 in hand
- Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey has banked more than $7.3 million toward his re-election in next year's Senate race
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Democrat Susan Wild padded her campaign war chest over the past three months, leaving her with almost five times more cash than her Republican competitors' combined ahead of next year's congressional race.
Wild, the three-term incumbent of Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District, raised just over $440,000 in her third-quarter filing with the FEC. Her Friends of Susan Wild political action committee now has a total of $1.1 million stashed away.
By comparison, state Rep. Ryan Mackenzie raised a little over $135,000 and has nearly $127,170 squirreled away. Maria Montero, a member of former Gov. Tom Corbett's administration, raised $100,772.50 and has $64,717.45 on hand. Kevin Dellicker, an Air Force Reserve intelligence officer, raised almost $66,400 with $56,817 of that amount remaining.
Allen Issa, an Allentown law student running as a Republican, did not file a campaign finance report. He formally entered the race 15 days before the Sept. 30 filing deadline, FEC documents show.
Fundraising is one way of measuring how candidates are building support ahead of the 2024 congressional race. While the richest campaign doesn't always win, deeper pockets allow candidates to purchase more air time for television commercials, place banner ads online, research their opponents and pay their campaign staff. Less wealthy campaigns need to rely on grassroots organizations to turn out voters and get their message out.
The FEC filings show the candidates are taking different paths to raise money for their campaigns.
Political action committees and similar organizations proved to be a significant cog in Wild's fundraising engine. These groups, which include the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the American Federation of Teachers, the Planned Parenthood Action Fund and the United Steelworkers Political Action Committee, donated more than $95,800 toward her re-election. Wild also picked up a little over $76,500 from small donors. Many of her itemized donations came from out-of-state.
Dellicker may have raised the least amount of money among reporting candidates, but nearly all of his donors live within the district. Some prominent backers included Lee Butz, the chairman of a group of local construction companies, and William Bachenberg, one of the false electors who tried to swing Pennsylvania's electoral votes to Donald Trump in 2020. Dellicker and his extended family have also donated more than $10,000 to his campaign so far. Dellicker did not accept any donations from political action committees this quarter and raised $7,922 from small donors — the most among the Republican candidates.
Montero, who has spent much of her adult life across eastern Pennsylvania, built her war chest from donors spread across the state. Some of her high-profile supporters include Scheller, Wild's opponent in the past two generals, and U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, who represents a rural stretch of Pennsylvania from Bradford County to Berks County. Other donors include developer Lou Pektor and former congressional candidate David Moylan.
Mackenzie, the most established politician of the Republican candidates, was better connected to GOP funding sources. He raised nearly $36,000 from WinRed, the Republican Party's national fundraising platform. He also saw financial support from the political action committees of Republican officials, including Lehigh County Sheriff Joe Hanna; state Sen. Greg Rothman, R-Cumberland; state Sen. Tracy Pennycuick, R-Montgomery; and state Rep. Zach Mako, R-Northampton. His mother, state Rep. Milou Mackenzie, R-Lehigh, donated $1,000 through her PAC. She and other members of his family donated another $26,391 on top of that.
The 7th District is among the most competitive in the nation. The Cook Political Report labeled it just one of 24 toss-up races across the country. Picking up and protecting these swing districts gives political parties a greater chance of controlling the agenda in Congress and pushing through their legislation. Last year, Wild, Dellicker and Republican Lisa Scheller and their allies spent more than $24 million trying to win the district, which includes Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton counties as well as a portion of Monroe County.
Meanwhile, U.S. Senator Bob Casey raised more than $2.6 million last quarter and has more than $7.3 million on hand. His likely Republican opponent, billionaire Dave McCormick, announced his candidacy in late September. McCormick, who ran for Senate in 2022 but lost in the Republican primary, did not file a report with the FEC for last quarter.
