Kanjorski has 25 times more campaign cash than primary foe

Lackawanna County Commissioner Corey O’Brien has been called the most competitive primary challenger in the country, but the obstacles of going up against a well-funded incumbent were on stark display Thursday in the form of newly-filed campaign finance data.

O’Brien, a Democrat, raised about $114,000 during the first quarter of 2010, and has raised about $320,000 to date. But he has also spent heavily, and finished the period with just under $47,000 in cash on hand, according to his campaign finance report.

Congressman Paul Kanjorski (D-11), meanwhile, raised about $258,000 during the quarter, spent lightly, and finished March with more than $1.1 million in the bank.

All told, Kanjorski has about 25 times the campaign cash that O’Brien has in the northeastern Pennsylvania district.

O’Brien made waves by going on the air with TV ads earlier this year, but that has also been costly. He spent more than $100,000 during the period on media consultants, though it remains unclear exactly how much of that was for TV time.

Republican Lou Barletta said this week that he’s raised more than $300,000 since getting into the race.