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Kanjorski enjoys big fundraising edge over O’Brien

Congressman Paul Kanjorski (D-11) had almost $975,000 in campaign cash at the end of last year, giving him a war chest almost nine times the size of his primary challenger’s, according to campaign finance data.

Kanjorski raised about $233,000 in the last three months of 2009, according to his fourth-quarter campaign finance report. Lackawanna County Commissioner Corey O’Brien, who is running against Kanjorski in the May primary, raised about $180,000 and finished the year with about $110,000 in cash on hand. The numbers illustrate the steep uphill battle O’Brien faces in taking on an incumbent who, while he has been vulnerable in general elections, remains relatively popular in his own party.

But O’Brien’s campaign quickly seized upon its rivals fundraising numbers to reiterate its contention that Kanjorski’s heavy reliance on contributions from financial interests is compromising his ability to be a Wall Street watchdog, saying in an e-mail that “Wall Street endorses Paul Kanjorski.”

“People are going to have to make a choice between choosing someone who’s focused on raising money from individuals, especially individuals in this district, and someone who’s campaign is funded by Wall Street and from outside the district,” campaign manager Justin Carroll told The Times-Tribune. “I think one of the clear contrasts between Corey and his opponent is how they raise the money and how they fund their campaigns.”

Kanjorski spokesman Ed Mitchell again pointed to the incumbent’s push to limit the size of financial institutions as evidence that “maybe he takes some of their money, but then he does what he wants to do for the people of the district.”

January 29, 2010 at 11:47 am

--Dan Hirschhorn

Tags: Corey O'Brien, PA-11, Paul Kanjorski

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