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Q2: Strouse Starts Strong, Raises 254K

Kevin Strouse family
Kevin Strouse and his family

Kevin Strouse has never run for public office, but you couldn’t tell it from his quarterly fundraising totals.

He raised in $253,766 from the time he announced his candidacy in early April through the end of June according to his campaign. He has approximately $218,000 on hand.

“Our campaign is off to a strong start, thanks to the help of our hard working supporters,” said campaign manager Justin Lamorte. “It’s clear that Kevin’s track record as a public servant and bipartisan problem solver makes him the right choice for Pennsylvania’s 8th District.”

Strouse hopes to oust Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R-Bucks).

By way of comparison, the last time a Democratic challenger knocked off a Republican incumbent in the 8th district was Patrick Murphy in 2006.

At this point in the 2006 cycle, in his first fundraising report in July 2005, Murphy raised $90,098 and had just under $79K cash on hand. He was also a first-time candidate.

Strouse has received strong backing from the party establishment in Washington DC as well as from Murphy – support crucial for his strong fundraising showing. He was named one of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s “Jumpstart” candidates in early May and held a fundraiser with DCCC Chairman Steve Israel (D-NY) in June.

A U.S. Army veteran who recently completed service at the CIA, Strouse, 33, moved to lower Bucks earlier this year.

He faces a primary opponent in Shaughnessy Naughton, a businesswoman from Doylestown. She announced a few weeks after Strouse, about halfway through the fundraising quarter.

Strouse’s fundraising puts pressure on Naughton, lest he establish himself as the de facto Democrat in the race. Based on past precedent, a successful challenge to Fitzpatrick will cost at least $2 million.

PoliticsPA is seeking fundraising numbers from Naughton as well as Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick raised $301,000 and had $275,000 on hand at the end of the first quarter. He’s been identified by national Democrats as a top target in 2014.

Keegan Gibson contributed to this report.

7 Responses

  1. Objections to Strouse’s candidacy based on where he’s lived are not to the point, which is, “Who will do the best job advocating the interests of the voters of Bucks County?” Fitzpatrick is keeping to the Republicans’ austerity policy, which is hurting everybody but the most wealthy. Strouse is a much stronger candidate than Kathy Bookvar was, is stronger than Ms. Noughton and has a real chance to unseat Fitzpatrick if Democrats and Independents rally behind him, as I’m sure they will as the campaign progresses.

  2. Objections to Strouse’s candidacy based on where he’s lived are not to the point, which is.”Who will do the best job advocating the interests of the voters of Bucks County.” Fitzpatrick is keeping to the Republicans’ austerity policy, which is hurting everybody but the most wealthy. Strouse is a much stronger candidate than Kathy Bookvar was, is stronger than Ms. Noughton and has a very strong chance to unseat Fitzpatrick if Democrats and Indendepents rally behind him, as I’m sure they will as the campaign progresses.

  3. It is all about the money!

    How in the world can this guy represent local citizens and concerns when he just moved here and receives money from the national party.

    We are losing our compass when it comes to elected officials. Just look at Washington today. It appears to be all about them rather than all about the people they are elected to represent.

    Is this guy being groomed for something? Does have a Homeland theme.

  4. Strouse is in desperate need of a GPS and some road maps just to find his way around Bucks and the 8th district ….

    Because until three months ago, he had NEVER EVEN SET foot in the 8th district.

    But that won’t stop the WashDC Dems from trying to pawn off another outsider on the gullible libs of Bucks and MontCo.

  5. You know who else was well funded?

    Kathy Boockvar who lost by almost 40,000 votes.

    I guess Dems are just willing to throw thier money down a drain. BTW, how much was raised in Bucks county and how much was raised in Philadelphia and Washington?

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