Lois Herr, left, and U.S. Rep. Joe Pitts
Republican U.S. Rep. Joseph R. Pitts outraised his Democratic opponent by a near 3-to-1 margin over the last two months in his campaign for an eighth term in Congress, new finance reports show.
Friends of Joe Pitts, the legislator's campaign committee, raised $108,042 and spent $39,033 in May and June, a report filed Tuesday with the Federal Election Commission shows. Pitts had $255,844 on hand as of June 30.
Democrat Lois Herr, on the other hand, raised $37,170 and spent $30,061 in the same time period, her campaign's finance report, filed Wednesday, shows. Herr 2010 had $64,733 on hand at the end of June and an outstanding debt of $25,000 for a loan the candidate made to her campaign in March.
Gabe Neville, a spokesman for Pitts' campaign, said the incumbent's report shows strong support among voters.
"Fundraising is a good barometer of support," Neville said in a statement. "Lois is getting zero traction. People just don't agree with her left-wing views. She had to loan herself $25,000 to make her campaign look viable."
But Herr campaign manager Greg Paulson pointed out that the majority of Pitts' money came from political-action committees, not people. And in fact, the reports show the two candidates nearly equal in the amount of contributions from individuals they've received in the past two months.
The FEC data show that Herr has raised $203,269 total from individuals so far in this campaign. Pitts has raised $194,643 from individuals, according to the FEC disclosures.
"It certainly shows that she has more popular support," Paulson said.
Herr, in a statement, said Pitts "has a very small, very rich constituency: 200 or so special-interest groups representing huge energy, banking, insurance and pharmaceutical companies. They have always paid his way."
Of the $108,042 in contributions to the Pitts campaign, $69,317 or more than 64 percent came from PACs or political party committees. The remaining $38,725 or 36 percent came from individuals.
Of the $37,170 in contributions to the Herr campaign, $34,706 or 93 percent came from individuals. Only $2,000 or 5 percent came from PACs. Herr gave her campaign $464 in in-kind contributions for travel expenses.