You don’t win the game in the first quarter.
Just ask the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI – or 51, if you have trouble calculating Latin numbers – who led the New England Patriots 28-3 at halftime before losing in overtime.
But you can certainly put some distance between yourself and the competition in the first quarter.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro that’s exactly what he did after his campaign reported contributions and proceeds totaling $10.498 million in the quarter ending March 31.
However, his likely Republican rival – State Treasurer Stacy Garrity – reported that her campaign raised just over $1 million.
This is a greater difference than the distance between your thumb and index finger.
If that wasn’t enough, Shapiro reports that his campaign has more than $36 million in cash during the 2026 election cycle. Garrity comes in at just north of $1.5 million.
“This extremely strong result underscores the broad support for Governor Shapiro’s leadership and his re-election campaign and builds on the significant momentum the Governor will achieve this spring,” Shapiro’s campaign said in a statement. “This continued, historic fundraising strength is the result of contributions from all 67 counties in Pennsylvania and all 50 states.”
The incumbent Democratic governor can certainly also point to his recent book tour and national airtime on CNN, MSNOW and NBC as part of the reason for the ponderous transport.
Garrity’s campaign said they were “humbled by the support she has received… from hardworking Pennsylvanians who donated because they recognized Pennsylvania needed change.”
What does a $10.5 million campaign finance application look like? Try 2827 pages. Please give me eye drops.
Shapiro’s support was broad-based, as his campaign received $916,141.58 in contributions of up to $50 and an additional $971,871.01 in donations ranging from $50 to $250. Political action committees like the governor’s PACs also contributed $2.03 million to his coffers.
Majority owner of the Philadelphia Phillies John Middleton he donated $50,000 to Shapiro’s campaign, as did the Comcast NBC Universal PAC. Venture capitalist Josh Kopelman also found himself in the $50,000 club, just like before Rena Kopelmanpresident of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia. As part of the campaign, the Governor also cashed $100,000 in checks from the Northeastern Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association PAC, PSEA PACE for State Elections, Jerry Yang AME Cloud Ventures and former CEO of Yahoo!, and Governor JB Pritzker state of Illinois.
Joshua Kalaferowner of Empire Holdings LRP and Neil Bluhmpresident of JMB Realty Corporation in Chicago, donated $200,000 to his campaign, and the Pennsylvania Democratic Party also contributed $250,000. Big gifts came from unions like IBEW Local 98 Union Political Education Committee, and the Greater PA Carpenters PAC contributed $500,000 to the campaign – almost half of Garrity’s total. Krzysztof BarnettCEO of ICBD Holdings in Florida, also contributed half a million dollars.
However, it appears that the winner for the largest contribution (after reviewing over 2,800 pages) was Christian LarsenCEO of Ripple, Inc. in California, who donated a cold million to the campaign.
Garrity brought in $134,340.87 in gifts under $50 and $168,249.16 in donations ranging from $50 to $250.
PACs weren’t as open with their checkbooks to the state treasurer as Shapiro was in the first quarter because her campaign showed corporate cash at less than $150,000. Building Together PAC is leading the way with a $25,000 contribution.
$10,000 contributions included: Citizens Alliance of PA PAC, Commonwealth Leaders Fund and the Montgomery County Republican Committee, while the PA Future Fund contributed $20,000 to the campaign.
Robert Ashera longtime Republican Party donor and co-chairman of Asher’s Chocolate Co., donated $20,000, while Robert Biskup from Impala Asset Management in Florida donated, among other things, the amount of $10,000.
Garrity’s campaign also has $140,354.38 in outstanding debts and liabilities, while its Democratic counterparts have no debt.
