By: Paul Engelkemier
Despite the special election for the 18th Congressional district is for a district that will not exist in this year’s primary election, outside money has been pouring into the race on both sides to push for the win.
Both parties view the special election as a chance to show momentum ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.
According to End Citizens United, Republican Rick Saccone has accepted $27,500 in PAC donations in the first 52 days of the year.
“Rick Saccone’s lackluster campaign is relying on special interest money from corporations, secretive outside spending groups, and his party bosses,” ECU’s president Tiffany Muller said.
“He’s spent his career manipulating the system to serve himself and his donors in Harrisburg, so it’s not surprising that Conor Lamb is in position for an upset victory in this race.”
Saccone has been outraised by Democratic candidate Conor Lamb in the race by a 7-1 margin among individual donors.
Saccone’s lack of fundraising for his campaign has been propped up by spending from PAC’s like the Congressional Leadership fund that opened two offices in the district to knock on 250,000 doors and has been running ads in the district for most of the year.
Lamb has seen his share of outside money coming to his campaign, though from individual donors from across the country. 62% of contributions to his campaign came from outside of the state.
Lamb’s out of state contributions include over $460,000 from New York and California, about 23% of his donations.
The NRCC believes these donations show that Lamb is not who he says he is.
“Conor the Chameleon’s campaign has been bankrolled by liberal elitists in California and New York. Nancy Pelosi and her far-left allies are working overtime to elect him because they know Lamb will be a rubber stamp for their liberal agenda in Washington,” NRCC spokesman Chris Martin said.