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Race for governor likely to cost more than $80M

By JOHN WHITTAKER 3 min read

Campaign spending and donations toward the race for Pennsylvania governor paint an entirely different picture of races for Warren County's federal representative and state representative.

Gov. Josh Shapiro has spent $66,326,356.86 so far in 2026 while bringing in $40,457,634 in donations. He ended the last filing period with $4,333,494.51 available to spend. Challenger Stacy Garrity has raised $9,201,364.17 so far in 2026 while spending $6,869,424.71, leaving $3,380,020.61 to spend in the campaign’s final weeks. The Garrity campaign raised much of that amount in the most recent cycle. She raised $7,626,663.42 through Sept. 14 before raising $5,388,032 in the fifth reporting cycle. Much of that money, according to Spotlight PA, came from the skill games lobby, with the donations fueling television ads airing throughout the state.

Totals for both candidates are through Oct. 19 with reports filed on Oct. 23. The candidates end the Oct. 19 filing period with roughly the same amount of money available to spend in the campaign's final weeks – $4.3 million for Shapiro and $3.3 million for Garrity. There's a vast difference in what has already been spent. Over the past two years, more than $77 million has been spent on the governor's race. Garrity has spent $7,363,055.84 since she received the Republican Party's endorsement in 2025 while Shapiro has spent $70,378,741.08. In addition to his own race, Shapiro has also made donations to the state Democratic Party's House of Representative and Senate campaign committees as Democrats try to take control of the state Senate and keep their slim majority in the state House of Representatives.

RACE FOR U.S. REPRESENTATIVE

Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson entered has received $2,076,546.63 from Jan. 1 through Oct. 14, the most recent date available. Of those contributions, his campaign received $831,675.41 in itemized individual contributions and $50,003.22 in unitemized individual contributions. He has received no party contributions, but $1,194,868 in other committee contributions. Thompson has spent $2,240,791.05 through Oct. 14, including $1,425,772.75 on operating expenses. The incumbent had $786,876.33 to spend in the campaign’s final weeks.

Ray Bilger, Thompson’s opponent, had raised $230,753.32, including $228,548.16 in individual contributions. Of those individual contributions, $138,509.46 were itemized and $80,138.70 were unitemized. Bilger also received a $500 party committee contribution and $8,300 from other committees as well as $1,100 that Bilger contributed to his campaign. Through Oct. 14, Bilger had spent $141,738.86, leaving $88,914.46 to spend in the campaign’s final weeks.

STATE REPRESENTATIVE

Rep. Kathy Rapp, R-Warren, brought $21,298.75 into the Oct. 23 campaign finance filing that captured the period from Sept. 15 through Oct. 19. According to the report, Rapp raised $1,500 and spent $2,343 through Oct. 19, with $20,445.02 left to spend in the final run-up to Election Day.

Her opponent, Destiny Howard, has no available reports.

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