It was another lackluster quarter for the Republican incumbent with a strong three month haul for a first time millennial candidate on the other side of the aisle. 

A Democratic candidate attempting to oust Rep. Scott Perry (R-York) raised $100,000 in the most recent filing period. No, not Auditor General Eugene DePasquale, who filed for Congress in July, meaning his first campaign finance report won’t be due until October. That candidate is 27 year-old attorney and author Tom Brier. 

Brier’s campaign raised $100,000 from the beginning of April to the end of June, while spending just under $30,000. He entered July with over $160,000 cash on hand. His campaign has raised $200,000 in the election cycle-to-date.

Perry, the four term incumbent, raised $150,000 from the beginning of April to the end of June, while spending just under $40,000 during this time period. His second quarter haul is about $20,000 less than the amount he raised in the first three months of the year. 

Perry’s campaign has raised over $320,000 in the election cycle-to-date and holds $300,000 cash on hand. 

Like the 1st quarter, Perry’s campaign raised funds from several joint fundraising committees, including contributions from the House Freedom Fund, whose goal is to elect “strong conservative candidates to Congress.” 

At this point in Perry’s previous reelection bid, he raised only $180,000 in the election cycle-to-date, which is $140,000 less than what he has raised thus far this cycle, but had $340,000 cash on hand, which is $40,000 more than this point in 2017. 

His most recent race for Congress was much different from his previous three contests. The redrawing of the state’s Congressional boundaries made Perry’s district much more competitive. President Donald Trump carried Perry’s previous district by over 20 points, but with the new boundaries, he only won by 10 points. Perry’s closest election under the old map was a 25 point victory in his first race in 2012. He just narrowly defeated Democrat George Scott by 2.5 points this past November.

Perry was outraised by his Scott in the previous election cycle. Perry raised $1.5M from the beginning of 2017 to the end of 2018, while the Democrat raised $2.2M during his unsuccessful bid.

It is unclear who Perry will face in 2020, but Democrats are already placing flipping his seat as a priority. The DCCC selected Perry as one of their three targets in the state to flip, along with Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Bucks) and Mike Kelly (R-Butler).

Of the three Republicans in the state being targeted by the DCCC, Perry raised the lowest amount in this quarter and in the election cycle-to-date. Both Fitzpatrick and Kelly have raised over double the amount of money that Perry has raised in the election cycle-to-date.  

Following a common practice, DePasquale deliberately timed his announcement for after the end of the quarter, meaning his first report will be due in October. Candidates often announce in this way in order to maximize fundraising time and show strength on their first report.

Perry also faces his first primary challenger since entering office with millenial Republican Bobby Jeffries, who believes Perry isn’t pro-Trump enough. Jeffries was also not required to file a campaign finance report yet since he officially entered the race after the most recent filing period.

The race was recently moved by the Cook Political Report from Lean Republican to Toss Up.