Untermeyer, Khan lead Philly DA field in money race
Campaign finance reports were due Tuesday at City Hall for Philadelphia district attorney and city controller candidates. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY. file)
All seven of the Democratic candidates for Philadelphia district attorney think they have a great story to tell, but two of them are better positioned to reach voters with media and Election Day field operations.
Michael Untermeyer, who’s put more than a half million dollars into his own campaign, and Joe Khan both have more than $400,000 on hand for the final six weeks of the campaign, according to campaign finance reports filed Tuesday.
Three other candidates — Rich Negrin, Teresa Carr Deni and Lawrence Krasner — have between $100,000 and $200,000 in their campaign funds.
Tariq El-Shabazz, a late entry, has just over $10,000 on hand. John “Jack” O’Neill, the last candidate to enter the race has just over $11,000.
Untermeyer’s $550,000 in loans to his own campaign amounts to three-quarters of the money he’s raised, but he isn’t the only candidate investing in his political future.
Deni loaned her campaign $105,000, and Khan loaned his $54,000, while Democrat Krasner and unopposed Republican candidate Beth Grossman both loaned their campaigns $25,000.
None of the candidates has high name recognition, so money will be important both for paid messaging — radio, TV, digital ads and direct mail — and for street operations on Election Day.
In a low-turnout election, the presence of poll workers and the support of ward leaders matter, and both require some money to secure.
Untermeyer has spent $258,000 so far, most of that on broadcast and cable TV buys for his commercials.All the candidates will continue to raise money in the time remaining before the May 16 primary.
There’s also a Democratic primary battle for city controller between incumbent Alan Butkovitz and challenger Rebecca Rhynhart. Rhynhart has managed to raise $223,000 in a relatively short time, though she still trails Butkovitz in cash on hand.
The chart below shows the totals for the candidates from their campaign-finance reports, except for Deni, whose campaign was unable to file on time and will get the report in a day late. Campaign manager Lewis Thomas gave me the numbers from the report to be filed, so they’re in the chart.
Candidates for District Attorney
| Candidate | Raised | On Hand |
| Michael Untermeyer | $713,835 | $455,766 |
| Joe Khan | $506,657 | $442,635 |
| Rich Negrin | $308,053 | $189,121 |
| Teresa Carr Deni | $219,425 | $154,861 |
| Lawrence Krasner | $154,141 | $127,592 |
| Tariq El-Shabazz | $39,800 | $10,425 |
| John O’Neill | $11,243 | $11,243 |
| Beth Grossman (R) | $28,855 | $4,818 |
Democratic Candidates for City Controller
| Candidate | Raised | On Hand |
| Alan Butkovitz | $241,505 | $209,486 |
| Rebecca Rhynhart | $223,749 | $166,989 |
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