BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Lehigh Valley congressional candidate Kevin Dellicker reported a big haul in his latest campaign finance report Thursday, raising more money in the final months of 2023 than his three fellow Republican opponents combined.
But donors provided Democratic incumbent Susan Wild with more than $633,700 over the same period, more than double the amount raised by the four Republicans in the race, federal documents show.
Wild, who is seeking a fourth term, had more than $1.5 million in her campaign war chest at the close of 2023. Dellicker led the Republican candidates with $205,692 on hand.
Dellicker, an intelligence officer with the Air National Guard, is making his second run for Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District. He nearly pulled off an upset in the 2022 Republican primary but narrowly lost to Lisa Scheller, a former Lehigh County commissioner who donated millions of dollars to her own campaign.
This past quarter, Dellicker raised more than $175,000, including a $36,000 loan he wrote his campaign. Most of that money came from donors who provided less than $1,000. His most well-known supporter is likely racing legend Mario Andretti. However, small business owners such as James Deiter, president of the Bethlehem-based Deiter Brothers HVAC company, backed him as well.
Republican Ryan Mackenzie, a state representative in Lehigh County, raised nearly $69,000. More than $15,000 came from GOP state lawmakers past and present or their staff, including Reps. Joe Emrick and Ann Flood, both Northampton County Republicans. Other prominent backers include Lee Butz, chairman of the Butz construction companies; Allentown developer Nat Hyman; and PPL CEO Vincent Sorgi.
Mackenzie also tapped into donations from WinRed, the Republican Party's national fundraising platform. The PAC has provided him with more than $61,100 through all of 2023, according to federal documents. Mackenzie finished the year with more than $137,600 on hand.
Maria Montero, a member of former Gov. Tom Corbett's administration, largely treaded water this past quarter. Her campaign raised $47,010 in the last three months of 2023 but spent $46,839 over the same period. She finished 2023 with $59,887 in her coffers.
Most of Montero's donations came from donors from outside the district who gave $1,000 or more. Her financial supporters included former Republican gubernatorial candidates Scott Wagner and Dave White; Jason Fitzgerald, president of the Harrisburg-based lobbyist firm Penn Strategies; and former U.S. Rep. John Quinones of Florida.
Allen Issa, a Penn State Law student, brought up the rear of the Republican field with $23,080 in funding. Nearly all of his donors were out of state, many of whom appeared to be family members. One of the few exceptions was Issa himself, who donated his campaign $525 — though he listed his home address as State College instead of Allentown. He finished the year with nearly $16,000 on the books.
Wild, meanwhile, filed a 793-page campaign finance report showing donations flooding in from across the country. ActBlue, the Democratic equivalent of WinRed, provided her with more than $324,500 in 2023. Another $34,500 over the year came from the JStreetPAC, a Washington-based political action committee that promotes "American leadership to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." Fair Shot PAC, which works to flip and secure contested House seats for Democrats, provided Wild with $10,000 in 2023 as well.
PA-7 — which includes Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton counties plus a sliver of Monroe County — is among the most contested congressional seats in the nation. Registered voters are nearly evenly split between Republicans and Democrats.
That's made it a target in the bigger fight to control the U.S. House. While Republicans hold a narrow majority, divisions within their ranks have made it difficult to pass legislation and led to the historic ouster of Speaker Kevin McCarthy in October. Democrats, meanwhile, are looking to protect their swing seats and pick up others as they hope to escape the minority.
The 2022 race for the Lehigh Valley district saw a record $24 million in campaign spending. Political observers have predicted more of the same in 2024.
