Trivedi outraises Gerlach; Fitzpatrick spends big
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Trivedi outraises Gerlach; Fitzpatrick spends big
Local Democrats running for Congress got bad financial news Monday night when word came out that their national campaign arm canceled the last of its TV buys in the area. But challenger Manan Trivedi, running against Republican Jim Gerlach in a Chester County-based district, is touting the latest fund-raising reports that show he topped Gerlach by about $100,000 in fund-raising last quarter.
Trivedi raised about $438,000 in the past three months, compared to about $337,000 for Gerlach. Trivedi also outspent Gerlach, putting $680,000 into the race compared to about $374,000 for the incumbent.
It's unclear if all of that money helped Trivedi, though. The decision by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to cancel roughly $2.6 million of TV ad buys in Philly for the final two weeks of the campaign strongly indicates that challengers in this area haven't made enough progress, and that the national party is putting its resources in other, more promising races.
At least one Republican, meanwhile, spent heavily to hold onto his seat. Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick, running in the most narrowly divided district in our area, put $1.5 million into his race in the past three months, according to campaign disclosures. He had just $311,000 left to spend in the Bucks-based race as of the end of September. His opponent, Democrat Kathy Boockvar, has previously said she raised more than $500,000 last quarter. But Fitzpatrick is believed to have a strong lead, contributing to national Democrats' decision to put its TV money elsewhere.
Money should not be a decider...the facts stand on their own..and we know what they are.
— ethelmay- Tell the Democrats to stop taking union / tax payers money. The stupid government union folks give to their union who give it to the Democrrats. it should start there but never will. — LTownBob
- Women will be voting!— BristolTwp
- Well BristolTwp you guys have been stuffing the ballot boxes for years. The women already have voted.— LTownBob
Jonathan Tamari is the Inquirer’s correspondent in Washington, where he follows the Philadelphia area’s interests and representatives. Tamari comes to D.C. after two years as a beat writer reporting on the Philadelphia Eagles and the NFL (where, a political source once told him, there are at least rules against hitting below the knees). He previously wrote about politics and government from Trenton, reporting on the characters and color of New Jersey state government.Jersey born and bred, Tamari now lives in the capital city, where he is looking for stories, places to run, soccer bars and good meals.
Reach him at jtamari@phillynews.com.
Follow Jonathan on Twitter: @JonathanTamari.
