Carney, Kanjorski report on coffers

Campaign committees to re-elect the two U.S. representatives serving Northeastern Pennsylvania have plenty of cash on hand but only one of the incumbents, as of Monday, had a declared opponent that would force him to dip into his coffers.

The quarterly committee financial disclosure forms detailing the period of July 1 through Sept. 30 have been filed with the Federal Election Commission. The forms are required for anyone whose campaigns have raised or spent money in that time frame. Only the two incumbents meet that standard.

U.S. Rep. Chris Carney, D-Dimock Township, who represents the 10th Congressional District that stretches from Williamsport to Milford, will seek a third term next year. His official campaign committee, Carney for Congress, reported raising $167,057 during the third quarter. For the entire election cycle that started Jan. 1, Carney’s campaign has raised $529,359 and spent $203,927. In the third quarter, the campaign listed expenditures totaling $79,504 leaving $393,591 cash on hand on Sept. 30. That’s much less than the $584,039 the campaign had at the end of the third quarter of 2007.

Of the contributions the campaign has received this year, $317,073 is from political action committees; $202,800 is from individual donors and $1,019 is from the Democratic Party. An additional $1,503 is from other sources, though the FEC does not specify what those “other” sources are.

As of now, no candidates have stepped up to challenge Carney, from within his own party or on the Republican side. His opponent in the 2008 general election, Shavertown businessman Chris Hackett, said he is not entering the race next year.

U.S. Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke, hasn’t officially declared he’s seeking re-election, but his spokesman said he’s raising money as if he is.

If he does decide to run, he’ll first have to fight off a fellow Democrat in the primary before taking on a Republican challenger in the 2010 general election.

Lackawanna County Commissioner Corey O’Brien, a Democrat from Moosic, is trying to secure the 11th Congressional District seat. To do that he’ll have to defeat Kanjorski, who’s now in his 13th term. And O’Brien will have to do a lot of catching up on the campaign finance side. The campaign committee for O’Brien, whose candidate didn’t declare his intention to challenge Kanjorski until after the third quarter ended, had no money in the bank on Sept. 30.

Kanjorski’s campaign committee, on the other hand, had $808,136 on Sept. 30, according to the FEC report. While he has more than twice the cash on hand Carney does, Carney raised more money during the third quarter than Kanjorski has.

From July 1 through Sept. 30, Pennsylvanians for Kanjorski reported $237,536 in contributions. Expenditures were listed at $42,008. For the entire election cycle, the Kanjorski committee has accepted $697,253 in contributions. Of that, $430,053 came from political action committees, $201,915 was from individual donors and $5,144 was from other sources. The Democratic Party did not contribute to the campaign.

Like Carney, Kanjorski also had less cash on hand at the end of the third quarter 2009 than he did two years ago, when the campaign’s balance was $1,249,203.

Ed Mitchell, Kanjorski’s spokesman for previous campaigns, said the this year’s lower total is a result of spending on his successful re-election bid against Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta last year.

“He’s had to rebuild it,” Mitchell said. “It’s a very tough time for financial campaigns.” That could mean that if Kanjorski does decide to run, he could have a huge financial advantage.

“He could start the year with $1 million on hand,” Mitchell said, noting that Kanjorski’s opponents had nothing at the start of October.

“If you’re not raising money at this point and you plan on running (eight) months from now, I think you’ve got a problem,” Mitchell said.

In addition to O’Brien, one other candidate has declared for the race, Christopher Howard Paige, a Republican from Skytop. Like O’Brien, Paige’s campaign reported no funds as of Sept. 30.

Although he has not indicated he would seek another shot at the seat now held by Kanjorski, Barletta is still paying for his loss last year. According to filings by Lou Barletta for Congress, the campaign committee for the Republican, the campaign had $15 cash on hand on Sept. 30 and a debt of $153,670.

To see the list of campaign contributions, see this story’s online version at www.times

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