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Corbett Starts 2013 with $3.5M on Hand

Tom Corbett portrait lores
Gov. Tom Corbett

Gov. Tom Corbett is off to healthy start for the 2014 cycle. The first term Republican had $3.53 million in his campaign accounts at the end of 2012.

According to year end campaign finance reports filed Jan. 31, the Tom Corbett for Governor committee has $3,503,230 on hand. The number includes $2.05 million he had at the end of 2011 minus $1.44 million of 2012 expenses. That means he raised $2.9 million in 2012.

He has no campaign debt.

His other political committee, Friends of Tom Corbett, reported $28,000 on the books.

His biggest single contributor was John Mork, the Colorado-based President and CEO of the Energy Corporation of America, who gave $100,000. The company is heavily involved with Marcellus shale development.

Other big contributors include the Carpenters PAC of Phila ($75K) and retail chain founder Al Boscov ($75K). Labor unions gave, too. The Steamfitters Local 449 contributed $25K and IBEW Local 98 in Philadelphia gave $20K.

Corbett spent about $24 million on his campaign in 2010.

He leads every Democrat whose name has been floated as a possible candidate in 2014. The closest is Rep. Allyson Schwartz. Every cent of the $3.11 million in her congressional campaign account could theoretically be transferred to a gubernatorial campaign.

Next is Pa. Treasurer Rob McCord, who reported $1.44 million on hand after his 2012 re-election campaign.

12 Responses

  1. Democrats can whine and claim Corbett can’t possibly be re-elected, but the fact remains that they have zero viable candidates with decent name recognition, decent fundraising ability, and a decent shot at winning a statewide campaign. The closest is bare. I wouldn’t be shocked if the Democrats push out Sestak or Murphy again. Sad, but it may be their only option aside from picking some leftwing quack from SEPA that cannot possibly win statewide.

  2. Yes – Sestak lost, 51% to 49%. But if he would’ve won over just 1% more (at the expense of Toomey), that gets him to 50-50.

    Hence, he came within 1% of winning. Any more brain busters, John Nash?

  3. Wrong. Sestak lost by 2% not “within 1%”. Sestak is a radical leftist who will be a disaster for PA.

  4. I agree with Reasonable Rep. Sestak was running in “Tea Party” 2010. He had to do what he did if he wanted to win. After all, it was a US Senate Seat. Sestak came within 1% of winning in the year practically no Dems won.

    Also, Sestak appeals to the liberal Democrats which could help him carry the primary. Say he was able to make the general, it would be, presumably, Sestak vs. Corbett. In the general, the “ABC – Anyone But Corbett” movement will be in force. They won’t care about the 2010 door hangers.

  5. Sestak’s only chance to win that election was to disassociate himself from the party establishment and go after split-ticket voters! 2010 was the wave year of wave years. It was obvious by September that the Republicans were going to wrest control of Harrisburg. Did you really expect Sestak to fall on his sword so that MAYBE the Dems could hold onto 2 or 3 meaningless seats in the State House?

    Say what you want about Sestak. In that political environment, by making the campaign about the person rather than the party, as a pretty liberal candidate he came within 1% of upsetting a strong opponent – during a wave election no less.

    Dems at the grassroots level can gripe and moan and hold a grudge, but Sestak is your best candidate from a political perspective. People make a big deal about McCord’s showing at the polls, but you have to take the row office returns with a grain of salt. Without the publicity (like Corbett got as AG), all that the row officers are to most voters is a name on a ballot. Look at Jack Wagner — he set a record with almost 3.5 million votes in November 2008, yet couldn’t even break 250K in a primary in 18 months later.

    Who knows…maybe McCord will be able to introduce himself to voters quickly. But that wouldn’t be an issue at all with Sestak.

  6. It’s going to come down to how well the State Dem’s work out their differences on who to run against this bum.

    A repeat of the 2010 clown show will give us another four years of Tom Corporate.

    Unless of course, a couple of federal marshals appear at a residence on Front Street with a warrant. We can only wish and hope.

  7. Sestak’s more of a blight than a darling of the Dems.

    He stepped on (ie screwed over) a lot of people during his Senate run. He didn’t work with the party or enough of the other candidates. They were not only on their own, but Sestak actively recruited split-ticket Republicans who would vote for, but not the rest of the ticket. He election day GOTV door-hangers were only about him, and not the whole ticket.

    He’s going to have a tough time raising money, and a tougher time finding supporters willing to go another round busting their rear-ends for no compensation. He’s got a bad rep inside the party. When I go to events, I get more head-nods than push-back when I criticize Sestak.

    McCord will clean up in Montco, because they have a strong county party, and Sestak’s base in Delco has gotten weaker under the current chairman, so Sestak will have to do even more lifting himself.

    If McCord and other candidates are willing to go after the fact that Sestak still lives in Virginia, and not PA, then they can knock him out early.

  8. In response to Jeremy:

    The union money keeps Corbett from being out front and leading on the right-to-work movement. He may be a supporter, but as long as the unions buck up a little bit, he stays on the sidelines, which for the unions is a win.

  9. Schwartz could raise money because she has a good base in SEPA. McCord could raise money because he was a Venture Capitalist. Sestak who might have a hard time raising money is a darling of the Dem party and has reached out to all 67 counties, that will count for something and he has a SEPA base to raise money.

    The Democratic big three can raise money. The biggest question is why union’s are giving to Corbett. I think Corbett is a right to work guy.

  10. Tom cannot win. Especially now with the scandal involving his son-in-law.
    Pileggi Cawley 2014 is the team to win. A balanced ticket with Dom being the pragmatic moderate we need to carry the state, and Jim from the ultra right wing of the party to keep the base happy, but likeable and also from the southeast.

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