by Peter Hall, The star of Pennsylvania’s capital
September 25, 2024
Pennsylvania’s attorney general race drew multimillion-dollar contributions from both candidates, but much of the spending went to the Republican Party Dave’s Sunday is not evident to voters in his most recent campaign finance report.
Democrat Eugene DePasquale He received $3.2 million in donations between May 14 and Sept. 16, according to his campaign committee’s latest report, due Friday and posted online this week.
While DePasquale says this is the largest amount reported by any candidate for attorney general during the same period since 2000, it is significantly less than the $5.5 million the PAC supported by the conservative megadonor Jeff Yass spent on Sunday TV advertising.
However, this spending is not included in the campaign committee’s latest report on Sunday.
Sunday’s report showed he had received nearly $1.4 million in donations, mostly from Republican Attorneys General Association and another committee supported by Yass, the Commonwealth Children’s Choice Fund. They each donated $550,000 on Sunday.
In a statement, DePasquale’s campaign touted donations from nearly 4,000 people, averaging less than $100 each. But DePasquale also received a significant amount from one organization. The Democratic Attorneys General Association donated over $1.5 million.
DePasquale’s report also lists about two dozen contributions of more than $10,000 each from PACs to unions, including the Pennsylvania State Educators Association, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the Service Employees International Union.
Professor of political science at Penn State Daniel Mallinson he said, focusing on Pennsylvania as a must-win state in the presidential election, running a statewide campaign like a run for attorney general is high-priced this year.
“You have to pay for political ads and your own political activities, which competes with all the noise that comes with presidential campaigns,” Mallinson said.
The office of attorney general also gained greater stature than the other offices of state treasurer and auditor general, as it became a key springboard for the office of governor and a means of influencing national issues and policies.
Yass, a Montgomery County trader and founder of Susquehanna International Group, has a personal fortune close to $50 billion, according to Forbes. As a supporter of charter schools and taxpayer-funded vouchers to facilitate parents pay private school tuition, Yass has donated tens of millions to PACs addressing these issues.
Most of that money goes to the Commonwealth Leadership Fund, which campaign finance records show has pumped more than $45 million into Pennsylvania elections since 2017.
Advertising industry data obtained by Capital-Star shows that the Commonwealth Leaders Fund paid $5.5 million for television and cable ads critical of DePasquale’s record. The advertisements contain a disclaimer that they are paid for by the Commonwealth Leaders Fund on behalf of the Sunday Leaders Fund.
The Pennsylvania candidates for elected office are: obliged to report donations of “things of value” to the Department of State.
Sunday’s latest report reported no such donations during a period in which advertising data shows the Commonwealth Leaders Fund booked ads on television stations across the state.
Spokesperson for the Sunday campaign Ben Wren told the Capital-Star that the campaign received notice of in-kind contributions from the Commonwealth Leaders Fund after the Sept. 16 final report deadline.
“We couldn’t find out the item number until they sent it,” Wren said in a text message, adding that donations would be included in the reporting cycle in which the notification was received.
A State Department spokesperson told Capital-Star that in-kind contributions must be reported in the reporting period in which they are received, and referred to the department’s frequently asked questions document on campaign finance reporting, which does not clarify when contributions are considered received.
DePasquale’s campaign manager Carver Murphy said Sunday was “hiding behind Yass dollars instead of campaigning for the people of Pennsylvania.”
“Voters will not be fooled by clever timing of their contributions,” Murphy said.
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