Kane spent campaign money on legal defense, depleting reelection funds

After spending campaign money on criminal defense lawyers and public-relations experts, Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane is entering her reelection year with a massive debt and relatively little in the bank.

Kane, a Democrat, raised not a dollar in 2015 - a year that saw her arrest on criminal charges and the suspension of her law license. She now faces a string of competitors, both Democratic and Republican, who want her job.

In her campaign-finance report for 2015, made public Tuesday, the embattled attorney general reported spending $150,000 from donors on defense lawyers and $130,000 for about eight months of public relations advice from Lanny Davis, special counsel to President Bill Clinton during his scandals.

This reduced Kane's campaign fund to $246,000. In contrast, she entered her last election year, 2012, with $2 million in the bank, and ended up spending twice that on the way to her landslide victory.

After her election, Kane continued to raise sizable amounts - $594,000 in 2013 and $75,000 in 2014.

Kenneth Smukler, a top political adviser to Kane, could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Last month, he said Kane would seek nomination to another term in April's Democratic primary.

The deadline to file is Feb. 16, and Kane has dispatched a former aide, Renee Martin, to begin collecting the 1,000 signatures required for nomination.

Kane's campaign-finance report shows that she still owes $1.6 million to her husband, businessman Christopher Kane, in money he lent her for her last race. The couple are divorcing.

The report also shows that she paid $150,000 to the law firm of her lead criminal defense lawyer, Gerald Shargel of New York City.

On Monday, Montgomery County Court Judge Wendy Demchick-Alloy set Aug. 8 as the trial date for Kane, who faces charges of perjury, obstruction, and official oppression. Prosecutors say she illegally leaked secret grand jury information to a newspaper in a bid to embarrass a critic and later lied about her actions under oath.

It is legal in Pennsylvania and under federal law to tap campaign money for criminal-defense bills. New Jersey bars the practice.

Kane faces a primary that already has two declared challengers: Montgomery County Commissioner Josh Shapiro and Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala Jr. Shapiro's campaign fund already has more than $1.3 million and Zappala's has $500,000, state records show.

Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli is also expected to seek the Democratic nomination. His fund had $512,000 at the end of last year.

State Sen. John Rafferty, who represents Montgomery County, is the only announced Republican candidate. He has raised about $130,000 in campaign funds, reports show.

In a recent poll, Harper Polling found that Kane had the support of 31 percent of likely primary voters. Zappala, Shapiro, and Morganelli trailed in that order.

The poll also found that 49 percent of those surveyed had an unfavorable view of Kane. The survey, which had a margin of error of 3.8 percent, said 43 percent of likely voters had a favorable opinion.

cmccoy@phillynews.com

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@CraigRMcCoy