Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick has
been representing the 8th District of Pennsylvania for a combined
total of eight years. And during this time, Fitzpatrick has raised more than
double the money of the average member of Congress as well as more than double
the money of his opponent, Kevin Strouse. During this election, the Fitzpatrick
campaign has raised about $2,482,114 while the Strouse campaign has only raised
$1,016,010. But these numbers aren’t even the most astonishing. The difference
in the campaigns’ finances lies within how much cash they have on hand. For
this number, the difference is staggering as Fitzpatrick has $1,906,830 while
Strouse only has about $268,721 (Open Secrets). This number may not be just
because Fitzpatrick raised more money or that the Strouse campaign is a little
more forgiving with theirs, but an explanation for this might be found within
the close race that Strouse had to face in the primary. By having no opponent
in the primary, Fitzpatrick comes into this race with an advantage financially
and image wise.
During the Primary election between
Shaughnessy Naughton and Kevin Strouse, the two Democratic candidates raised a
combined total of $418,656 (BallotPedia). The money that they raised was all
spent towards attack ads: mailers, e-mail blasts, YouTube videos, and even television
commercials. Naughton used many personal attack strategies in order to try and
beat Strouse (Bohen). However, since she did not come out victorious, the only
thing that her attack ads really did was hinder Strouse for the midterm
election. After the primary, Strouse was not only set back in the eye of the
public, but he was also set back financially. Since the primary, Strouse has
only raised $452,435 which does not even near the amount of money that
Fitzpatrick raised overall (BallotPedia).
While the Democrats spent all of
their time and money trying to beat each other up during the primary, the
Republicans sat on their cash, watched the fight, and geared up for this
mid-term election. Meanwhile, the Democrats continued to beat each other up and
damage the elected nominee’s image. However, this image problem now does not
just effect Strouse’s reputation, but it ends up affecting his bank account as
well. By having such a strong hatred towards Strouse during the primary
election, many of Naughton’s supporters are now backing Fitzpatrick both financially
and with their vote (PoliticsPA).
The issue of having a strong opponent is
bigger than the competition, and even bigger than the money. The negative image
that is created during the primary has financial implications and can
definitely cost votes. It makes us think if having a primary is really the best
way possible to choose a candidate. With the 8th Congressional District
of Pennsylvania, it seems as if the primary may damage the party’s candidate
more than help the party as a whole.
Bohen, Jeff. "The Political
TV Ad Buy that Wasn't?" LevittownNow.com. Accessed October 2, 2014.
http://levittownnow.com/2014/05/18/political-ad-buy-wasnt/.
"Congressional Elections:
Pennsylvania District 08 Race: 2014 Cycle OpenSecrets." Accessed October
1, 2014. https://www.opensecrets.org/races/summary.php?cycle=2014&id=PA08.
Dooling, Doug. "PA-8: Bucks
County Officials Back Naughton." PoliticsPA. Accessed October 1, 2014.
http://www.politicspa.com/pa-8-bucks-county-officials-back-naughton/53519/.
BallotPedia. "Pennsylvania's
8th Congressional District elections, 2014." Accessed October 1, 2014.
ballotpedia.org/Pennsylvania's_8th_Congressional_District_elections,_2014.
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