PA-18: Lamb outraises Saccone by nearly five-to-one
Democrat Conor Lamb outraised his GOP opponent in this month’s special congressional election in Western Pennsylvania by a nearly five-to-one margin over the first seven weeks of the year, according to new campaign finance filings Thursday night.
Republican state Rep. Rick Saccone’s poor fundraising — he raised just $703,000 from January 1 through February 21, compared to Lamb’s $3.3 million haul — has forced Republican outside groups to spend valuable dollars to drag Saccone across the finish line in a district President Donald Trump carried by nearly 20 percentage points.
Saccone spent $600,000 in the fundraising period and had only $303,000 in cash on hand as of February 21.
Saccone’s fundraising and spending paled in comparison to Lamb’s. Over the first seven weeks of 2018, Lamb’s campaign raised more than $3.3 million and spent over $2.9 million. The Democrat’s campaign had $837,000 in the bank as of February 21.
Republican outside groups have come to Saccone’s rescue, spending $9.1 million in the race thus far to boost the GOP nominee in the March 13 election. Congressional Leadership Fund, the super PAC with close ties to House Speaker Paul Ryan, has spent more than $3 million, and the National Republican Congressional Committee has shelled out $2.9 million.
In a sign of the self-perceived stakes for the White House, political outside groups close to Trump have also spent millions to back Saccone. America First Action has spent $1.1 million, and the Republican National Committee has spent a little more than $1 million.
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/03/01/pennsylvania-special-election-fundraising-lamb-saccone-433530
= new reply since forum marked as read
