PITTSBURGH — Fueled by a massive advantage in donations from those who gave less than $200, Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman heavily out-raised Republican Mehmet Oz from late April through the start of July, entering the opening act of the general election for U.S. Senate with a significant cash advantage.
Fetterman’s total haul from individuals and committees, according to campaign finance reports due to the Federal Election Commission on Friday, checked in at $9.9 million. Oz, the cardiothoracic surgeon and TV celebrity, brought in $1.1 million, closing the gap a bit by loaning his campaign another $2.2 million.
As the calendar turned to July, Fetterman had five times as much cash on hand as Oz, at a total of $5.5 million to $1.1 million.
A Pittsburgh Post-Gazette analysis of the reports underscored the extravagant stakes of the race, as leadership from both parties starts to descend on the state as a key to control of the Senate. It also showed Fetterman with a sizable financial head-start and a donor base he can continue to tap into, even as he continues to rest from the campaign trail recovering from a stroke.
Not all hope is lost for Oz, though. His campaign wasn’t able get as much of a jumpstart in fundraising since his primary battle with David McCormick was a toss-up until days after the election, which triggered an automatic recount. Meanwhile, polling had shown Fetterman with a wide lead in his primary for weeks before the election.
The general election is Nov. 8.
The gap between the candidates in small-dollar donations this past quarter was widest. Fetterman, from April 28 to June 30, raised $5.1 million from those who gave less than $200, while Oz got $153,000. The Fetterman campaign said last week that 69% of its donations this period came from new donors.
From those who gave $200 or more in one swoop or in aggregate, Fetterman’s haul was at $4.5 million; Oz’s was at $780,000.
Most of Fetterman’s 32,000-page campaign finance report were line-by-line transactions from ActBlue, the Democrats’ online fundraising tool that puts money from donors directly into candidates’ coffers. Fetterman has raised more than $7.8 million on the fundraising platform so far this cycle.
Maxing out to Fetterman this period — at the $2,900 threshold — were a number of Pittsburghers, including Dawne Hickton, an executive at Jacobs Engineering Group and wife of former U.S. attorney David Hickton; Michael Rosenzweig, a personal injury attorney at Edgar Snyder; and Charles Burke, chairman of the board at the Grable Foundation.
McCormick, the former hedge fund CEO who lost a close GOP primary contest to Oz, gave Oz $2,900.
Oz, whose personal fortune is worth between $76 million and $300 million, according to a government filing, signed off on three separate loans to his campaign this period: chunks of $1.3 million and $400,000 before the primary and a $500,000 loan on June 29.
As with any race that could determine control of a chamber in Congress, political committees from all over the country are donating money to the two Pennsylvania campaigns.
Fetterman raised $329,000 from PACs, including:
—$5,000 from Truth to Power PAC, which promotes candidates who will stand up to “corporate special interests” and lobbyists to fight for government reform.
—$5,000 from Stand up for Workers PAC, fighting for a higher minimum wage, among other things.
—$5,000 from Save Democracy PAC, which wants to get big money out of politics, overturn Citizens United and fight for same day and automatic voter registration.
—$5,000 from Prairie PAC, Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin’s leadership PAC for electing more Democrats.
—$5,000 from Off the Sidelines PAC, New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s outlet or electing more women and Democratic allies.
—$5,000 from gun violence prevention PACs; $2,500 from Giffords PAC and $2,500 from Brady PAC.
—$10,000 from Blue Wave Project, affiliated with Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley.
Oz’s political committee haul, totaling $147,000, came from a list including:
—A $46,500 transfer from the National Republican Senatorial Committee, working to elect GOP candidates to the chamber.
—$10,000 from Common Values PAC, affiliated with Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, a member of the Republican leadership team.
—$5,000 from Fund for America’s Future, founded by South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham to fight for limited government, “strengthening the American family” and a strong national defense.
$5,000 from Greater Tomorrow PAC, led by U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson, a Pennsylvania Republican who describes his values as pro-economy, pro-energy and pro-rural family.
—$5,000 from Rely on Your Beliefs Fund, a PAC associated with Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo.
Political analysts said earlier this month that they believe this Senate race could fuel an outpouring of spending that rivals the Pat Toomey-Katie McGinty Pennsylvania Senate contest in 2016, which hit $164 million. Advertisers from both parties already have booked at least $67 million in advertising spots, with most of the reservations starting in the fall, according to a recent Post-Gazette survey of bookings.
Fetterman spent almost twice as much as Oz in the second quarter, $6.3 million to $3.4 million. This included spending in the final weeks of the primary election, which was an especially expensive affair on the GOP side.
The biggest chunk of Fetterman’s spending — excluding items like salary, payroll taxes and credit card transaction fees — was $2.1 million on digital advertising and consulting with Middle Seat Consulting, a Washington-based company. A majority, $1.7 million, was marked as a general election purchase.
Fetterman also spent $2 million on TV advertising with WIN Creative in New York, which has a long list of high ranking Democratic clients. The company worked with Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign, Joe Biden’s 2020 effort and the state House and Senate Democratic caucuses in Pennsylvania.
Oz spent $1.8 million on “media” services from Target Enterprises, a California-based firm that helps candidates create ad campaigns. All of this was designated as primary election spending, according to the finance reports.
Oz spent another $216,000 on media production from the Philadelphia-based Jamestown Associates, which lists — among its claims to fame — an ad for the Donald Trump reelection campaign in 2020 touting his pardon of Alice Johnson.
The race is expected to heat up in late July and August, as Fetterman signals an imminent return to the campaign trail and Oz continues to pound the pavement, decrying Washington Democrats’ handling of the economy and labeling Fetterman an extremist.
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