By Alex Roarty
PoliticsPA Staff Writer
roarty@politicspa.com
Steve Welch hasn’t publicly announced whether he will continue to run in the 6th Congressional District now that incumbent U.S. Rep. Jim Gerlach has re-entered the race, but his indecision didn’t stop his campaign from releasing fundraising numbers that show, for now, he’s on pace to have enough money to compete against anybody.
Welch’s campaign had more than $650,000 on hand to end the fourth fundraising quarter last year, it said Wednesday in a press release. The candidate contributed another $150,000 of his personal fortune into the campaign and raised nearly $100,000 from supporters, according to the campaign.
Welch has now contributed $650,000 of his own money into his campaign so far. He’s raised about $1500,000 through campaign donations.
Whether the money is enough to keep him in the race against Gerlach remains to be seen. The congressman dramatically re-entered the race Friday after suddenly ending his gubernatorial campaign.
Brendan Benner, Welch campaign manager, declined to comment when asked about Welch’s future. Other candidates, such as state Rep. Curt Schroder and former Revenue Secretary Howard Cohen, have left the race.
Any candidate opposing Gerlach would face opposition from local and national Republican officials, who have supported the former gubernatorial candidate’s return to the race.
A report from Talking Points Memo this week suggested he might be courting support from the conservative Tea Party movement.
