Sam Rohrer’s finance report finally posted to the FEC, and it’s about what his campaign had realistically hoped for. The former state Rep. and 2010 gubernatorial candidate brought in $156,169 and had $84K on hand as of March 31.
It’s an OK quarter, but it won’t allow him to answer the ads and mailers that have targeted him recently on his vote for the pay raise.
As a quick refresher, Sen. Bob Casey raised $1.46 in Q1 and had $5.2 million on hand. Former coal company owner Tom Smith raised $443K and had about $2 million on hand (after spending nearly $3 million). Entrepreneur Steve Welch raised about $152K and had about $389 on hand (after spending $772K).
That means that Rohrer’s Q1 fundraising was slightly higher than that of Welch, despite the latter’s institutional advantage of endorsements from Gov. Tom Corbett and the Pa. GOP. However, Welch has regained second place since April 4. He’s reported $22.5K via 48-hour fundraising reports. Rohrer’s brought in another $10K. Smith has just $1K more.
The reporting period ran from January 1 to April 4, 2012.
Harrisburg area attorney and former U.S. Senate aide Marc Scaringi stayed on pace, bringing in $10,837 on Q1 and his fundraising total to $80,600. He had $946 on hand at the end of the quarter, but owed nearly $50,000 in campaign debts.
David Christian, a decorated war veteran and businessman from Bucks County, finished fifth in fundraising of the GOP field. He brought in just $5,165 in Q1, bringing his total to just over $65K on the cycle. He had $6,500 on hand, but his campaign owes about $10K in debts.
Joe Vodvarka is a retired custom spring manufacturer from Allegheny County challenging Sen. Bob Casey in the Democratic primary. He raised $50 in Q1, bringing his cash on hand to $200.
Casey lives in Lackawanna County; Smith in Armstrong County; and Welch in Chester County.
6 Responses
Clarification- “I find ironic the complaint about why candidates would incur debt over receipts when the should have stopped when funds ran low. ”
More properly stated, I can not reconcile the argument that two candidates should have dropped out based on a day to day receipt total, yet still justify running after the primary without proper funding on the hope that you will be able to raise enough funds to compete in April media.
@Shawn & Molly. Go back to the referenced link article. “Although Smith was the sole funder of his own campaign during that period, the AP reports that he was able to out-fundraise Welch 2-to-1 in outside contributions, about $300K to $150K.”
The primary being over, I think it is time to talk about the other underlying problem here.
1) Tom came in having the necessary funds to run his campaign and compete against a party endorsement.
2) All who stayed in after the endorsement made a conscious decision to do so, and what a lack of funding meant vs. the party machine -April media, mailers, tv, etc.
3) The race with 5 people, one with name recognition, a loyal following and the largest non-party database, as well as 30 tea parties who supported him; one with the party endorsement, one with proper funding and was known by party insiders for his long history of supporting republican candidates, one who entered the race 2 1/2 years ago and was very active in campaigning and one who is known regionally in the SE who was bogged down with a party challenge to his ballot. All brought something different to the table, four of the five had messages that resonated with conservatives.
4)Mr. Christians debt was incurred mostly in fighting the machine. Mr. Scaringi was hurt by Ron Paul running this cycle. Ron Paul’s people were giving their money and devoting their efforts to Ron and electing delegates to the convention. Marc Scaringi positions mirror Ran Paul’s.
5) I find ironic the complaint about why candidates would incur debt over receipts when the should have stopped when funds ran low. If you follow that argument out to its logical conclusion, anyone who did not have the funds to compete in April media should have dropped out of the race because it was fiscally an irresponsible decision.
6) I have not heard either Mr. Christian or Mr. Scaringi complain about one candidate having more money than they did, as if being prepared for a race is a negative.
7)All four of the aforementioned candidates coalesced around not only winning, but defeating the endorsed candidate..or the process itself. All can claim a part in that success, as can their supporters. No ones efforts were in vain
8) Political analysts are going to say what most are hedging on-and which Mr. Rohrer complains about openly-lack of money.
9) There is an object lesson here for the tea party in re: funding or failure to fund candidates.
10) It is also ironic how the tea party , or should I say 30 tea parties, turned against a person who helped co-found a tea party with over 500 members, and harped on his former democrat registration.
Sorry to hear that about Katy. I also know Rohrer, and his family and can vouch that he’s the real, genuine deal. I’ve worked with many campaigns on the grassroots level and this is the first time I haven’t been able to find any negatives. He’s a rarity. It’s his humility and gentleman-like conduct that sets him far apart from most politicians. If he wins or loses, I’m still proud to be part of his base.
Regarding Sam Rohrer…I give you Katy Abram’s deleted tweet from Friday morning:
@katyabram: @MaxofthApostles I worked 4him that’s why I am not voting 4 him. Sometimes u learn about what people r really like after working w them 🙁
That is indeed impressive! Especially considering that his funds come from a conservative base that doesn’t typically contribute. I agree with Shawn.
I’m a bit puzzled by the debt that Scaringi (50K) and Christian (10K) have amassed. How can one stand on a platform of fiscal resposibility and then spend more money than is on hand. Don’t get it.
That is impressive. Sam Rohrer raised the most money in Q1, after you discount Smith who raised all his money from himself. This shows that Sam Rohrer excites people to not only work for him, but also to contribute to his campaign. This is what is going to be needed to beat Casey and the Democratic machine.