For the second consecutive quarter, U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-8th District) raised more money than any other member of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation.
Cartwright’s campaign raised funds $1.68 million from April 4 through the end of June, according to the latest campaign finance data. In the previous quarter, his the campaign raised $1.38 million in the first three months of the year, which was also led by the state’s congressional delegation.
In addition to raising the most money in the first two quarters of 2024, his campaign has raised more than any other incumbent and candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in Pennsylvania this cycle and has the most cash on hand.
Cartwright’s campaign has raised $5.66 million so far this election cycle and entered July with $4.53 million in the bag. At this point last cycle, Cartwright had $2.73 million at hand.
Cartwright to face Republicans Rob Bresnahanbusinessman, in November. Neither candidate for the seat in northeastern Pennsylvania faced an opponent in the April 23 primary.
Bresnahan raised $1.13 million between April 4 and June 30, which includes a $400,000 loan to his campaign. His campaign has raised $2.56 million in the election cycle so far, more than any other U.S. House candidate in Pennsylvania this election, though Bresnahan loaned the campaign $1.2 million of that total.
Bresnahan’s campaign has significantly outspent Cartwright’s over the past three months. His campaign spent $1.13 million this quarter, more than any other congressional candidate in the state over the past three months, while Cartwright’s campaign spent just under $295,000. As of July 1, Bresnahan’s campaign has $1.22 million in cash on hand, the second-highest among non-incumbents in Pennsylvania, trailing only Democrat Ashley Ehasz, who is running against U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick in PA-01.
The 8th Congressional District will be in the spotlight again in 2024. National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) placed the race on its initial list of seats to flip last year, while the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) also placed Cartwright on its “First Line Program”, aimed at protecting vulnerable House Democrats.
Former President Donald Trump, who officially nominated as the party’s presidential candidate at the Republican National Convention on Monday, he carried the 8th Congressional District in 2016 and 2020. Cartwright is the only Democrat in the state’s congressional delegation to represent a district that Trump won.
President Joe Biden, whose childhood home in Scranton is located in the 8th district, I visited this region in April. Trump, who has appeared in northeastern Pennsylvania in previous campaigns and organized a rally in the district just days before the 2020 presidential election, has not yet visited the region this year. Trump held a rally south of the county, in the Lehigh Valley, in April.
A pair of national rating agencies, Cook Political Report AND Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ballcall the 8th Congressional District race “uncertain.”
