Susan Wild significantly outraises GOP challengers in Q4

U.S. Rep. Susan Wild (D-7th District) posted her strongest quarter of 2023 in Q4 and significantly outraised the Republican field challenging her for the Lehigh Valley seat, new campaign finance documents show.

Wild’s campaign raised just over $640,000 from the beginning of October to the end of December, spending just under $170,000. The three-month stretch was a big jump from the previous quarter, which had been her weakest in 2023, when she raised just over $440,000. Wild raised just over $465,000 in Q1 and raised $600,000 in Q2. 

Wild, serving in her third term, has now raised $2.1 million in the current election cycle to date and entered January with $1.57 million cash on hand. At this point in the previous cycle, Wild’s campaign had $1.7 million on hand. 

Of the four Republican candidates running to unseat Wild, Kevin Dellicker raised the most in Q4 and entered January with the most cash on hand. 

Dellicker, a veteran who finished second for the GOP nomination for the 7th Congressional District in 2022, raised $175,000 in Q4. Of that, $36,000 was from a loan he gave to his campaign. His campaign spent just over $25,000 during Q3 and entered January with $205,000 on hand.

State Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-Lehigh) raised just under $70,000 in Q4 and spent just under $60,000. His Q4 haul is a drop off from the previous three months when his campaign led the GOP candidates in the race by raising $135,000 in Q3. His campaign has raised just under $205,000 since jumping into the race in July. Mackenzie entered January with $137,000 on hand.

Maria Montero, an attorney, also had a lackluster quarter in comparison to her previous filing. She raised just over $45,000 in Q4, after she raised $100,000 in Q3. Her campaign spent just over $50,000 in Q4 and entered January with just under $60,000 on hand. 

Allen Issa, a former congressional aide, raised just under $25,000 in Q4 and spent $7,000. He entered January with slightly less than $16,000 on hand.

Lewis Shupe, who filed to run for the seat as an independent, did not file a report for Q4 as of Thursday morning. 

Although Wild significantly outpaced the GOP candidates in Q4, she is one of three Pennsylvania Democrats named on the National Republican Congressional Committee’s initial 2024 list of seats to flip. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) placed Wild on its “vulnerable” incumbent list for this cycle. 

The Cook Political Report and Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball have the 7th Congressional District race rated as a “toss up,” while Inside Elections has it labeled as “tilt Democratic.”

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