The latest fundraising reports are in for the highly-competitive race in Pennsylvania’s 8th district. Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R-Bucks) faces two Democratic candidates, Kevin Strouse and Shaughnessy Naughton. The third fundraising quarter covers the months of July, August, and September.

Fitzpatrick

Mike Fitzpatrick is widely considered the only member of Congress in the PA delegation who faces a serious fight next year. As a result, it is imperative that he raise enough money to fend off his opponents and so far he has measured up in that regard. According to FEC reports, Rep. Fitzpatrick raised $462,175 in the third fiscal quarter. He also spent $96,145 and currently has $1.04 million cash on hand.

While Fitzpatrick’s haul wasn’t as large as his second quarter total of $502K, it was still more than his first quarter total of $302K. The most important number for him at this point, however, is his total cash on hand. With public opinion of Congress in dire straights at the moment he’ll need all the help he can get out of that money to move his campaign forward.

A healthy amount of the Congressman’s money, $125,365, came from Political Action Committees (PACs). Fitzpatrick received most of his support from the PACs of various businesses, including $7,000 from Comcast, $2,500 from Citigroup, and $2,000 from Goldman Sachs.

Strouse

Thanks his support from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the pressure is on Kevin Strouse to compete with Rep. Fitzpatrick in every facet of the campaign, especially the money game. In his third quarter, Strouse raised $151,287 while spending $43,944. At the moment, the campaign has $325,604 cash on hand.

It’s a significant dip from his fundraising in the previous quarter when he raised $253,766.

One big advantage for Strouse, though, is that his support from the party is still evident. For example, he again received money from House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi ($2,000) and the DCCC ($1,000). The Iraq and Afghanistan War vet also got a $2,500 contribution from the veteran’s PAC VoteVets. He also gave his campaign $11,553 this quarter, increasing his own contribution to over $46,000 since the start.

Naughton

Finally, there is Democratic candidate Shaughnessy Naughton. Naughton is a chemist and owner of her family’s publishing company who jumped in the race last May.

Naughton raised $100,004 during the third quarter according to her FEC report, which makes her the only candidate to out-perform her previous total. She spent $27,743 over the last three months and currently has $161,195 cash on hand. She also loaned her campaign $54,500.

In her first financial report Naughton raised $89,000. While she still trails her rivals, she has significantly closed the gap with Strouse and kept her head above water in the dash for cash. With little institutional support at the moment, she’ll need to continue to improve in order to impress observers.