Democrats hold significant advantage in congressional campaign spending two weeks ahead of election

With midterm elections two weeks away, millions of dollars are pouring into Pennsylvania’s congressional and senate races.

Democrats have a $48 million to $30 million advantage over Republicans in money spent supporting congressional and senate candidates.

About a fifth of the total money flooding in has come from independent expenditures made by outside political action committees that have no contribution limits. Of that money, as of Tuesday, October 23, Republicans have the advantage.

Party	Total Spending	Spending from IE	% Spending from IE
Republican	$27,058,359.37	$9,110,421.63	33.66%
Democrat	$52,213,312.21	$5,593,079.25	10.71%
Total	$79,271,671.58	$14,703,500.88	18.55%

The race in the 1st Congressional District between incumbent Republican Brian Fitzpatrick and Democratic challenger Scott Wallace has seen the most PAC money, with $7.5 million supporting Fitzpatrick’s bid to hold the Bucks County seat.

Pa. 1st Congressional District

Brian Fitzpatrick – R

IE Group	IE Spending
Congressional Leadership Fund	$2,876,232.50
NRCC	$2,451,402.34
American Unity PAC, Inc.	$515,748.00
Republican Jewish Coalition	$513,010.25
No Labels Action	$462,522.19
Defending Main Street SuperPAC	$460,173.73
Main Street Advocacy	$125,000.00
Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions	$78,850.00
Environmental Defense Action Fund	$30,270.00
Humane Society Legislative Fund	$19,601.15
Total IE Spending	$7,532,810.16
Candidate Spending	$2,019,455.00
Total Spending	$9,552,265.16

Scott Wallace – D

IE Group	IE Spending
Planned Parenthood Votes	$374,266.05
NextGen Climate Action Committee	$218,856.75
DCCC	$142,380.36
Total IE Spending	$735,503.16
Candidate Spending	$8,396,971.00
Total Spending	$9,132,474.16

PAC money has also flowed heavily into the race in the 7th Congressional District in the Lehigh Valley — mostly benefiting Democrat Susan Wild.

In the 10th Congressional District, PAC support has been more even. There, Republican incumbent Scott Perry is in a tight race with Democratic challenger George Scott.

Pa. 10th Congressional District

George Scott – D

IE Group	IE Spending
With Honor Fund	$256,893.07
DCCC	$231,557.84
NextGen Climate Action Committee	$92,684.95
AFL-CIO COPE Treasury	$22,401.77
For Our Future	$15,609.29
Keystone Progress	$500.00
Total IE Spending	$619,646.92
Candidate Spending	$738,549.40
Total Spending	$1,358,196.32

Scott Perry – R

IE Group	IE Spending
America First Action, Inc.	$624,390.58
Heritage Action for America	$132,990.06
Total IE Spending	$757,380.64
Candidate Spending	$648,167.89
Total Spending	$1,405,548.53

PAC money has been spent in 11 of the 18 congressional contests in the state — a sign that the others are not expected to be competitive.

In the Senate race, incumbent Democrat Bob Casey is beating Republican challenger Lou Barletta in spending and fundraising, and he holds a double digit lead in major polls.

U.S. Senate

Bob Casey – D

IE Group	IE Spending
PA Values	$600,000.00
For Our Future	$235,526.68
American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees AFL-CIO	$82,974.56
Unidosus Action PAC	$29,690.76
Progressive Turnout Project	$12,875.79
Human Rights Campaign Equality Votes PAC	$192.53
Total IE Spending	$961,260.32
Candidate Spending	$14,116,615.00
Total Spending	$15,077,875.32

Lou Barletta – R

IE Group	IE Spending
Stars and Stripes Forever PAC	$15,680.97
Total IE Spending	$15,680.97
Candidate Spending	$5,338,248.00
Total Spending	$5,353,928.97

Midterm elections will be held November 6th.

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To see in-depth spending details for each Pa. race, click on this table.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect that America First Action, Inc. supported Scott Perry.