One reason Pennsylvania Democrat Doug Pike is an early favorite to capture the state's southeastern 6th District is the significant personal resources he's willing to invest in his campaign.
Pike, who is vying to succeed Republican Rep. Jim Gerlach, a 2010 candidate for governor, gave his campaign $510,000 in this year's second quarter, or about 77 percent of his total receipts of $664,000. That was the most money raised in the reporting period by a non-incumbent 2010 candidate for the House.
When Pike, a former editorial writer for The Philadelphia Inquirer, announced his candidacy in early April, Democratic officials said that he would be willing to part with $1 million of his own money on the race.
Pike collected $142,000 in the second quarter from individual donors, including Mike McCurry ($500), a former press secretary to President Bill Clinton, and Michael E. O'Hanlon, a senior fellow at The Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C.
Pike is a son of former New York Rep. Otis G. Pike (1961-79), a Florida retiree who gave $1,000 to his son's campaign.
Doug Pike's second-quarter donor list wasn't exactly Pennsylvania-heavy. Of the $123,623 in individual contributions that Pike itemized on his second-quarter report, nearly as much came from New York donors ($30,300) as from Pennsylvania donors ($32,300). He also collected $16,350 from Maryland donors and about $10,000 from residents of Washington, D.C.
Pike collected $11,500 from political committees, including $2,000 from the leadership PAC of Democratic Rep. Patrick J. Murphy, who represents the 8th District in suburban Philadelphia, and $1,000 from the leadership PAC of Democratic Rep. Allyson Y. Schwartz, whose 13th District takes in part of Philadelphia.
It's possible that the 2010 election in Pennsylvania's 6th will pit Pike against Republican state Rep. Curt Schroder, who raised just $21,000 in limited fundraising because Gerlach didn't announce his campaign for governor until this week. Other Democrats and Republicans have plenty of time to consider the race.
![[ARCHIVES]](http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/templates/images/archives_icon.png){kind=icon}
Post A Comment