Gov. Shapiro raises record $10 million in reelection race, eclipsing presumptive GOP competitor Stacy Garrity

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Gov. Josh Shapiro raised $10 million in the first quarter of 2026, according to his campaign finance report released Tuesday. That’s a record high for Pennsylvania gubernatorial races and around 10 times more than his likely Republican competition, Stacy Garrity, raised in the same period of time.

Shapiro’s haul is twice the $5 million he pulled during the first quarter of his first run for governor, which itself matched Tom Wolf’s record.

Shapiro entered the year with $30 million already in his campaign warchest and has spent just over $4.5 million, leaving him with $36 million going forward, though he will likely raise considerably more as November draws closer. Garrity carried over a little more than $1 million, spending more than half that in the last quarter, and is now left with about $1.5 million.

“This remarkably strong showing underscores the broad support for Governor Shapiro’s leadership and his reelection campaign — and builds on the Governor’s significant momentum heading into this spring,” the Shapiro campaign said in a statement. “This continued, historic fundraising strength comes as a result of contributions from all 67 counties across Pennsylvania and all 50 states.”

Garrity’s campaign said they are “humbled by the support she has received … from hardworking Pennsylvanians who donated because they recognize that Pennsylvania needs a turnaround.”

In an email to WHYY News, campaign spokesperson Matt Beynon said Shapiro “spent his time traveling to New York and Los Angeles to collect million dollar checks from liberal billionaire [sic] like Reid Hoffman.” Hoffman, a co-founder of LinkedIn who appears in the Jeffery Epstein files, contributed in the past but does not appear to have donated this cycle.

Shapiro has made numerous national media appearances in the last year, including CNN, MSNOW, NBC and even Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” and is widely considered a contender for the Democratic primary for the 2028 race for president.

Jeff Jubelirer, vice president of Bellevue Communications and a political consultant who has worked for Democrats and Republicans, said that Shapiro’s presumptive 2028 candidacy may be “part of” his fundraising success, but it is far from the whole story.

“He’s always been a strong fundraiser,” he told WHYY News. “I think that he’s also very popular. If you look at his numbers among independents, even among Republicans, they’re higher than what a traditional Democrat, particularly in this volatile political environment would be. And I think that’s why he’s continued to impress, continued to raise money.”

Shapiro received nearly $1.9 million in small contributions — those less than $250 — with thousands from Pennsylvania residents, as well as thousands from outside. Garrity, on the other hand, brought in just over $700,000 from such contributions, the vast majority from within the commonwealth.

Shapiro also received millions in larger contributions of thousands of dollars. A Florida entrepreneur and philanthropist with connections to the commonwealth, for example, contributed a half-million dollars. A health care entrepreneur in Ohio contributed $125,000, and a lawyer in Stockton, New Jersey, contributed $100,000.

Another $2 million came from political action committees, many of them managed by local unions and other interest groups. For example, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers’ Philadelphia local union contributed $500,000 and PACs for the Pennsylvania State Education Association and the assisted living industry each contributed $100,000.

Garrity received less than $150,000 in total PAC funding, with a $25,000 contribution from Building Together PAC comprising her largest donation altogether.