Pennsylvania is one of 10 states that does not limit how much money individuals and political action committees can donate. That shows in new lawmakers’ fundraising reports.

The 2023 class of new legislators raised more than $10 million this year. Among candidates who won for the first time, the median amount raised was $127,972 for state House races and $495,692 for state Senate races.

With the majority of the lower chamber on the line, candidates in some highlight competitive state House races raised well over half a million dollars.

Cost among highest

Pete Quist - the deputy research director at OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan group that tracks money in U.S. politics - said 2022 fundraising totals for legislative candidates in Pennsylvania were among the highest in the U.S., behind only California, Illinois, and Texas.

Not all successful candidates in Pennsylvania raised a ton of money - totals range from as low as $20,000 to over $1 million.

The highest fundraising totals were seen in competitive districts, such as those in the swingy, populous collar counties of Philadelphia, or other growing suburban counties experiencing political shifts.

Many of the newly elected lawmakers lamented that races cost that much money to win - even those that received some of the heftiest donations. Missy Cerrato, whose win in the competitive 151st District guaranteed the Democrats their majority, raised nearly $700,000 in 2022 and also received more than $500,000 in in-kind donations like advertisements.

“The reality is, those millions of dollars could have gone to so many other people and things to help people. That was a very hard thing to accept going into this race,” said Cerrato. “Having worked with charity organizations before, having been a part of seeing the true desperation that some people are facing economically - the amount of money that goes into these races, while necessary to get decent legislation, doesn’t need to be as extreme as it is.”

Using own money

Many legislators who spoke with Spotlight PA quit their jobs to campaign and listed time and money as the two biggest considerations in their decisions to run. At least 14 first-time lawmakers donated over $10,000 to their own campaigns.

State Rep.-elect Joanne Stehr (R., Schuylkill) raised the least of any member of the freshman class. She brought in just over $20,000 over the course of her candidacy, $3,500 of which she donated to herself. She said she had to take money out of her 401(k).

Stehr, a member of the newly formed Freedom Caucus, was a home health care nurse for 30 years before working in health care administration. Before being elected, she had joined her local zoning and planning committee but had no other prior political experience.

Her primary opponent, Ronald Tanney, raised over twice that amount, receiving donations from PACs and sitting Republican lawmakers.

“I was not the establishment’s choice, I could tell you that,” Stehr said. “Most of their money had already gone into my opponent.”

All four legislative caucuses have campaign committees that raise and donate funds to candidates. The House Democratic Campaign Committee raised more than $16 million in 2022, and its Republican counterpart raised just over $7 million. Typically, campaign committees support incumbents over newcomers and focus on races that they think will prove politically important.

‘Beholden to money’

For instance, this year’s redistricting made the 30th District in the suburbs of Pittsburgh competitive for Democrats, and it became a priority for the HDCC. The committee donated $100,000 to ER doctor Arvind Venkat, who was one of the top fundraisers among the freshman class. His campaign raised more than $1.3 million over the course of his campaign, but despite that haul, Venkat said he supports limiting the influence of money in elections.

“I think it has gotten outrageous, and we end up with a system that really is too beholden to money,” he said. “It doesn’t necessarily create the incentives that we want in public office and public policy.”

Some new lawmakers see fundraising as an unavoidable part of campaigning. State Rep.-elect Marla Brown (R., Lawrence) said fundraising helps assess which candidates are properly qualified and proficient at spreading their message.

“Unfortunately, it’s a necessary evil of the process,” said Brown. “But I think if you have the skill set to be able to get to know people and build trust, it’s really the same skill set and working with constituents. So the two should be able to go hand in hand.”