House colleagues pitch in for Lentz

In raising more than $220,00 toward his Congressional bid last quarter, state Representative Bryan Lentz (D-Delaware) got some welcome help from his co-workers in the General Assembly, according to campaign finance data published Thursday.

Lentz, who finished the quarter with almost the full fundraising haul still in the bank and has since raised another $30,000, by no means relied on his state House colleagues for the bulk of his campaign cash. He collected money from dozens of individual contributors and several political action committees, taking far less than the legal maximum from many individuals, who he can later go back to for more, according to an analysis of his third quarter campaign finance report.

But donations from more than two dozen state House colleagues across the state, either through their political committees or from their own wallets, underscore the support Lentz has managed to build within Democratic ranks ahead of next year’s primary. The representatives’ committees gave Lentz’s campaign anywhere from $100 to $2,000, and he netted more than $15,000 from fellow members in the state capitol.

“My colleagues in Harrisburg, my colleagues from the millitary, my colleagues from the district attorney’s office, they’re all throughout the [third quarter] report,” Lentz told pa2010.com. “There’s no more humbling thing than to have the people you work with … say you’d be a good congressman.”

Among the campaigns giving money to Lentz were committees controlled by state Representatives Mike Gerber, Josh Shapiro, Joe Markosek, Dan Frankel, Eugene DePasquale, Tim Mahoney, Tim Briggs and Rick Taylor. State Representatives David Kessler and Babette Josephs made personal contributions.

State Senator Daylin Leach also contributed from his political committee, and Lentz even got support from two of the Democrats he is hoping to join in Washington. Committees controlled by Congressman Patrick Murphy and Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz gave $2,000 and $1,000, respectively.

Lentz faces political consultant E. Teresa Touey in next year’s primary to succeed incumbent Joe Sestak, and state Representative Greg Vitali (D-Delaware) is also considering a run. But even supporters of Vitali are increasingly—if quietly—saying that Lentz is the party’s likely nominee. The likely Republican nominee, former U.S. Attorney Pat Meehan, raised more than $200,000 in his first 16 days in the race.