Toomey's war chest more than twice Sestak's

Republican Senate candidate Pat Toomey said Tuesday that he raised $3.1 million in the second quarter, leaving him with more than twice the cash of his Democratic opponent, Rep. Joe Sestak.

Sestak raised $1.95 million, bouncing back quickly after draining his accounts to defeat Sen. Arlen Specter in the May 18 Democratic primary. He had about $2 million on hand as of June 30, his campaign said.

Both campaigns released the bottom-line numbers they planned to report Thursday to the Federal Election Commission, providing an early look at the financial state of a general-election race expected to be one of the nation's most competitive.

"As I travel across the state, I meet more and more Pennsylvanians who want to join our campaign in order to bring true change and fiscal sanity to Washington," Toomey, a former House member from the Lehigh Valley, said in a statement.

Toomey will report $4.56 million cash-on-hand, his campaign said. Previously, he had reported $4.7 million in the bank as of April 28.

Though he had nominal opposition on the GOP side, Toomey spent money on TV ads just before the primary to raise his profile. His campaign also is currently on the air with an estimated $250,000 worth of commercials statewide.

Sestak raised $1.6 million of the $1.95 million he took in since the May 18 primary, the bulk of that in June, campaign officials said.

Most of Sestak's money came from grassroots supporters who had not reached annual federal donor limits of $4,800 for a primary and general election, said campaign director Richard Sestak, the candidate's brother.

Specter, a five-term incumbent, had the support in the primary of most of the Democratic Party's roster of big fund-raisers and donors. Sestak has been reaching out to them for help, and some of that effort is beginning to bear fruit, his campaign said.

"There's no magic to fund-raising: It's just a matter of being focused and a lot of hard work," Richard Sestak said.

Democratic fund-raiser Mark Aronchick, a Specter supporter, hosted a reception for Sestak on July 8 at his home, drawing about 90 people. "There were people from across the Democratic spectrum coming together," Aronchick said.

Toomey may have a hidden advantage that boosts his available cash for the fight:

The Democratic Senate Campaign Committee and the state party spent about $1.4 million on coordinated direct expenditures for Specter in the primary, leaving about $200,000 available for the fall.

Federal law limits parties' coordinated expenditures for each state, based on population, and the limit for Pennsylvania is $1.6 million.

Republican committees, having spent none of their allotment, will have the entire $1.6 million at their disposal to push Toomey's cause in coordination with his campaign.

There are no limits on independent expenditures that party committees can make, but they can't coordinate those with the campaigns they are supporting. Most campaign strategists believe that coordinated expenditures are more effective because they have tighter control over the message.