Republican Tom Smith puts another $10 million of his own money into Senate campaign

TOM SMITH, the former coal-company owner from Armstrong County in western Pennsylvania, has invested another $10 million of his own money into his campaign to unseat first-term U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr.

Smith spent just shy of $5 million of his own money to win a five-way Republican primary election on April 24. He put another $1.5 million of his own cash into the race after the primary.

That brings his total campaign investment to $16,475,000. And Smith did better than Casey with campaign donations from individuals and political-action committees in the last three months.

Smith, in a campaign-finance report filed Monday, said that he had $7 million in the bank as of Sept. 30. He reported raising $1.6 million from July 1 to Sept. 30.

That puts Casey at a disadvantage. Casey on Monday reported having $5.2 million in the bank as of Sept. 30. He raised $1.5 million from July 1 to Sept. 30.

Smith spent more than $2 for every $1 that Casey's campaign put into his bid for a second six-year term.

From July 1 to Sept. 30, Smith spent $6.8 million while Casey spent $2.5 million.

The result has been obvious to anyone who owns a television. Smith, little known when he entered the primary, has been running campaign commercials at a rate that Casey can't match.

The polling in the Senate race has become a little chaotic, with three weeks to go until the Nov. 6 election.

Public Policy Polling, in a survey released Monday, said that Casey holds an 11-point lead over Smith, 50-39 percent.

An Allentown Morning Call/Muhlenberg University Poll released Monday showed a much narrower race, with Casey over Smith 41-39 percent.

The Inquirer, in a poll released last week, had Casey leading Smith 48-38 percent.