Tired of ads? Subscribers enjoy a distraction-free reading experience.
Click here to subscribe today or Login.

And you thought the election-year jockeying for power in Pennsylvania ended Nov. 2.

Au contraire.

Even after Tom Wolf topped incumbent Tom Corbett at the polls, big money continued to flow into – and out of – each man’s campaign fund, with some donors making contributions up to the Dec. 31 deadline, according to a recent report by PublicSource, a collaborative news effort that investigates Keystone State issues.

In total, the contenders raised $57.7 million ($32.9 million for Wolf and $24.8 for Corbett). That makes it the state’s most expensive general election.

For Wolf, $284,019 arrived after the election, compared to Corbett’s post-loss contributions of $39,196.

The largest after-the-fact donation, of $50,000, was directed to Wolf from the Comcast Corporation & NBC Universal Political Action Committee. Prior to the vote, the same PAC had bestowed $100,000 to Corbett’s campaign. Other than shoving cash at the state’s top dog, the political strategy behind this PAC’s switcheroo isn’t entirely clear.

Meanwhile, after paying bills, Corbett closed his campaign committee fund. The ex-governor transferred the remaining $150,678 to his Friends of Tom Corbett PAC, according to PublicSource’s report, giving him control of more than $300,000. It’ll likely be used as he sees fit to support Republicans vying in state or local races.

After its November victory, Wolf’s campaign wrote a $100,000 check to former primary opponent Katie McGinty, who’d been saddled with debt in the springtime loss. She was subsequently named Wolf’s chief of staff. Presumably, her loan was paid off to avoid a potential conflict of interest: fundraising to eliminate her personal debt by approaching some of the same people aspiring to do business with the state government.

Do Pennsylvania’s campaign finance laws enhance or undermine democracy?

And with so much money directed to candidates’ campaigns, then re-directed to who-knows-where, does your $5 or $50 contribution matter? Or might it be better spent if mailed to the local food bank?