The losers who were previously perceived as Republican primary frontrunners were just outraised by yet another failed congressional candidate
PENNSYLVANIA — When Q2 FEC reports were filed yesterday, failed politicians Sean Parnell and Jeff Bartos weren’t even the highest-raising losers in this Republican primary field for Senate. That honor went to another failed congressional candidate, Kathy Barnette, who led the pack in fundraising with nearly $600,000 raised in Q2 — outraising the two previously perceived frontrunners. The Parnell campaign reported a haul of roughly $561,000 for the quarter, while the Bartos campaign misled reporters into thinking he had raised $1 million from supporters before his report disclosed that $440,000 — nearly half of the amount raised — actually came from the real estate developer’s own deep pockets.
Despite Bartos and Parnell being “already at each other’s throats,” and attacking each other over MAGA purity tests in recent months, it appears there’s another right-wing Republican contender they should have been worried about. These numbers also underscore why it’s no surprise that an ultra-wealthy California socialite and Trump mega-donor like Carla Sands smelled an opportunity to jump into this messy and underwhelming primary field.
“These fundraising reports are the latest evidence of how chaotic and wide open this Republican primary has become in an increasingly vulnerable open seat,” said Pennsylvania Democratic spokesperson Jack Doyle. “Regardless of which failed politician limps out of this GOP primary next year, far-right extremist Kathy Barnette leading the pack in fundraising and showing why this race is already off to such a rocky start for Republicans.”
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