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Pittsburgh lawyer Jason Richey's campaign for governor shows how big money shapes Pa. politics
(link) https://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-state/2022/07/03/pittsburgh-pennsylvania-governor-campaign-jason-richey-bill-mcswain-finance-pac-commonwealth-leaders-republican-gop/stories/202206260064
For Jason Richey, it was an abrupt political move that would surprise and sadden his most loyal supporters.
After campaigning for nearly a year as the outsider who would bring working-class values to one of the most powerful governor’s offices in the country, the Pittsburgh lawyer was dropping out.
He immediately endorsed his rival Bill McSwain, the darling of the GOP establishment, who was being bankrolled by one of the state’s wealthiest political action committees.
But then came a movement of money that would confound political experts in Pennsylvania and raise questions about how public dollars can be doled out — and more important, for what political purposes.
Just weeks after Mr. Richey dropped out, the same political action committee that was funding the McSwain candidacy turned around and dropped $250,000 into the bank account of Mr. Richey’s now-shuttered campaign.
Shortly after getting the money, Mr. Richey reimbursed himself for $150,000 he’d loaned his own campaign — money his campaign coffers didn’t have before the Commonwealth Leaders Fund donated it.
Eric Epstein, the founder of a well-known Pennsylvania political watchdog group, questioned whether the money and Mr. Richey’s decision to drop out were connected.
After campaigning for nearly a year as the outsider who would bring working-class values to one of the most powerful governor’s offices in the country, the Pittsburgh lawyer was dropping out.
He immediately endorsed his rival Bill McSwain, the darling of the GOP establishment, who was being bankrolled by one of the state’s wealthiest political action committees.
But then came a movement of money that would confound political experts in Pennsylvania and raise questions about how public dollars can be doled out — and more important, for what political purposes.
Just weeks after Mr. Richey dropped out, the same political action committee that was funding the McSwain candidacy turned around and dropped $250,000 into the bank account of Mr. Richey’s now-shuttered campaign.
Shortly after getting the money, Mr. Richey reimbursed himself for $150,000 he’d loaned his own campaign — money his campaign coffers didn’t have before the Commonwealth Leaders Fund donated it.
Eric Epstein, the founder of a well-known Pennsylvania political watchdog group, questioned whether the money and Mr. Richey’s decision to drop out were connected.
- more at link -
Post-Gazette graphic:
Hmmmm ... it seems that running for PA Governor has become very lucrative for some Repukes!
Edit to add: The Post-Gazette article makes it clear that the money came from Jeff Yass, the Montgomery County billionaire who was backing McSwain, and more than likely he also paid off Richey to drop out early. MUCH more at link.
2 replies
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= new reply since forum marked as read
This is the gubernatorial race, and Josh Shapiro is our Dem candidate who ran unopposed in the primary. Doug Mastriano won the Repuke primary and he's the ultimate ChumpHumper running against Shapiro.
Jeff Yass was actually trying to defeat Mastriano by backing McSwain. (There were probably 7 or 8 Repukes running at one point. It was a Klown Kar.) Yass dumps a lot of money into Pennsylvania politics and it all goes to the Repukes.
