PHILADELPHIA — Bill McSwain got a major boost from a conservative group that spent millions of dollars to promote his campaign for governor — and he has the most cash in the bank in the nine-candidate Republican primary field.
Dave White spent most of the $3 million he lent his campaign last year — and then chipped in $1 million more to his war chest. Lou Barletta and Doug Mastriano struggled to raise as much money as other top contenders, but they remain the best-known Republican candidates and possibly the front-runners.
Five weeks before the primary election, no single Republican candidate for governor has taken command of the race. But campaign finance reports filed this past week offer clues as to which contenders have a shot to win the party’s nomination on May 17.
