Dan Onorato

Gubernatorial candidates report on fundraising

By Peter Jackson
February 4, 2010
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The state's candidates for governor and U.S. Senate reported on their fundraising progress Monday, just before the Democratic and Republican state committees consider making endorsements for the nominations at stake in the May primary.

Dan Onorato's campaign had $6.5 million at the end of 2009 — considerably more than any other gubernatorial candidate in either party, according to a summary of its campaign finance report.

The total includes surplus funds from the county committee that helped get Onorato elected to two terms as the Allegheny County executive and $3.7 million that the Democrat raised last year for his gubernatorial campaign.

"We are confident we will have the resources we need to educate voters about Dan's record of accomplishment and his vision for Pennsylvania," said Kevin Kinross, Onorato's campaign manager.

In the U.S. Senate race, Republican-turned-Democrat Arlen Specter had $8.7 million on hand at year's end — more than U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak, who is opposing Specter in the Democratic primary, or conservative Republican Pat Toomey, the former congressman who nearly ousted Specter in the GOP primary in 2004 and is the front-runner for the Republican nod this year.

The fifth-term senator received $1.1 million in contributions during the fourth quarter, but sent out more than $602,000 in refunds — mostly to contributors who were unhappy with Specter's party switch and took him up on his promise to make refunds to donors who requested them, according to a campaign spokesman.

Sestak reported ending 2009 with $5.1 million on hand, including money he raised through his congressional campaign committee.

Toomey ended the year with $2.8 million, but he raised $1.7 million in the fourth quarter — more than Specter.

Candidates' ability to raise money is a litmus test of the strength of their candidacies and especially crucial in statewide campaigns that depend on expensive TV advertising.

The federal and state finance reports periodically force candidates to put their fundraising cards on the table and disclose the sources of their money, although only financial summaries were available for nearly all the candidates Monday, the filing deadline.

The Democratic State Committee meets Saturday in Lancaster to consider endorsing candidates for governor and Senate. The Republican State Committee plans a similar meeting Feb. 13 in Harrisburg.

In the GOP nomination race for governor, state Attorney General Tom Corbett reported $4.2 million in contributions and a year-end balance of $3.2 million. His only opponent, state Rep. Sam Rohrer of Berks County, raised more than $130,000 through his legislative and gubernatorial committees and had $62,330 on hand.

Trailing Onorato on the Democratic side were state Auditor General Jack Wagner of Pittsburgh, who reported $676,450 on hand at the end of the year; former U.S. Rep. Joe Hoeffel, with $229,079; and Scranton Mayor Chris Doherty, with $94,514.