If fundraising told you who would win a political race, Democrat Lindsay Powell would be a shoo-in for the 21st House District special election race.

Powell raised $52,723.78 from late July to early September – dwarfing the $6,031.57 amassed by Republican Erin Connolly Autenreith. And Powell’s figure most likely does not include a $10,000 donation from the PSEA-PAC after the report filing deadline.

Powell and Autenreith are vying for the seat vacated by the resignation of Sara Innamorato to focus on her run for Allegheny County Executive. With the state House tied at 101-101, the winner will provide her party with the majority for much of the remainder of 2023.

The Democrat’s support includes a Philadelphia-based committee that supports progressive female candidates ($5,000), and a political committee tied to Dan Gilman, who like Powell served in the administration of former Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto. Gilman’s committee gave her $3,000. If elected, Powell would be the first Black woman to represent the district.

Autenreith’s fundraising efforts got underway shortly after Powell’s, records show. Nearly half of Autenreith’s support came from a pair of $1,500 donations from the Republican Committee of Allegheny County. Another $500 was contributed by the political committee of Lori Mizgorski, a former Republican state representative whose district once included part of the 21st.

The 21st District includes the City of Pittsburgh, the townships of Reserve and Shaler, and the boroughs of Etna and Millvale. Democrats hold a commanding 28,084 to 12,478 advantage in voter registration.