Pennsylvania’s richest man, Jeff Yass, is spending millions to elect the Republican Party’s attorney general candidate in November.

A political action committee whose main donor is Pennsylvania’s richest man entered the race for state attorney general, hoping to elect the Republican Party candidate.

Nearly half of the expected Republican ad spending — about $6 million in total — is coming from the Commonwealth Leaders Fund, a PAC funded largely by Jeff Yass to support Republican candidate Dave Sunday, the York County district attorney, in his challenge to Democrat Eugene DePasquale, the former state auditor general.

Last week, Republicans planned to more than double Democrats’ spending on TV and streaming ads, with GOP political action committees reserving more than $13 million through November, while Democrats have earmarked $5 million for reservations.

Yass, of Lower Merion Township, is a billionaire who supports school choice and frequently donates money to Republican candidates. The co-founder of Susquehanna International Group, one of the largest trading firms on Wall Street, Yass has an estimated net worth of $49.6 billion, according to Forbes.

The Commonwealth Leadership Fund largely stayed out of the 2020 attorney general race when then-Attorney General Josh Shapiro ran for the position. re-election. Shapiro, a Democrat, was elected governor in 2022 and appointed Republican Michelle Henry to fill the rest of his term. After switching parties, Henry decided not to run for a full term.

Both Democrats and Republicans in Pennsylvania see a race for the influential attorney general as a necessity.

Early ad buys by the PAC supporting Sunday gave DePasquale evidence to support his claim that Yass was trying to “buy the Attorney General’s Office for Dave Sunday,” Carver Murphy, DePasquale’s campaign manager, said in a statement.

“We have serious concerns about a campaign funded solely by one individual: what the expectations are for this candidate if elected, when the debt is due, why a supposedly education-focused advocacy group plans to invest millions in the attorney general’s office,” Murphy added.

Yass is not Sunday’s only campaign donor. He did not give directly to Sunday in May, but the Commonwealth Leaders Fund is spending significant amounts of money on his behalf. Campaign financial statements for direct contributions to candidates since May will not be released until September 24.

Ben Wren, a spokesman for Sunday’s campaign, said in a statement that Sunday had not met Yass but appreciated the support of the Commonwealth Leaders Fund, as well as others who support his campaign.

“Dave Sunday welcomes support from any individual or group that is willing to fight for accountability and redemption in the criminal justice system,” Wren said.

The attorney general is the state’s top prosecutor, with broad authority to represent the state’s interests nationally in civil court in lawsuits against the federal government and gigantic corporations. In addition, the winner will be a leading candidate for governor in future years, since two of the last three governors have previously served as attorney general.

State attorneys general have played an increasingly significant role in national politics in recent years. GOP attorneys general have thwarted President Joe Biden’s plan to cancel student debt and other strategies as Democratic attorneys general, including Shapiro, led the legal battle against former President Donald Trump throughout his presidency.

Both Sunday and DePasquale are backed by their parties’ national attorneys general association, which has deep pockets and a geographic reach that could decide the election. The Republican Attorneys General Association has already set aside about $6 million to support Sunday.

» READ MORE: Who is Jeff Yass, the Pennsylvania Republican donor and TikTok investor?

Matt Brouillette, leader and conservative founder of the Commonwealth Leaders Fund, he told Philadelphia magazine in mid-June that he and Yass would talk soon to decide who they would like to select in November. Advertising bookings show they have decided to back Sunday as one of the most significant races in November.

Yass representatives did not respond to a request for comment.

Brouillette did not directly respond to The Inquirer’s question about the PAC’s support for Sunday, but instead in a statement attacked campaign donations to the Left from government employee unions, which he claimed were “not subject to any investigation.”

DePasquale has been endorsed by more than a dozen unions, including those representing government workers such as AFSCME District Council 13 and the Pennsylvania State Education Association.

Sunday’s campaign has been on television for several weeks now, trying to build his name in the state and distinguish himself as someone with a tough stance on crime. Wren said it was a “no-brainer” to appear on TV early to tell voters “about his record as district attorney of getting crime and communities down as quickly as possible.”

DePasquale, the Democratic candidate, last week aired his first television ad, featuring several law enforcement officials talking about his accomplishments as state auditor general.

The Democratic Attorneys General Association initially donated $1.5 million directly to DePasquale’s campaign, and its executive director, Sean Rankin, said in a statement that “Pennsylvanians across the state will hear Eugene’s message and choose him in November.”