Who is funding PA legislative candidates on the ballot in Centre County? See top donors, expenses
Legislative candidates running to represent Centre County have collectively raised more than $402,000 during the most recent campaign finance filing — although the full picture is still unclear because the Pennsylvania Department of State has not posted reports for all candidates.
Through campaign finance data provided by the candidates via the Pennsylvania Department of State’s website, anyone can see how much money has been raised by a candidate, how much an individual or political action committee has donated, and what a candidate has spent the money on.
The Centre Daily Times has combed through more than 210 pages of data to understand who is funding local campaigns, including Democrat Rep. Scott Conklin and Republican Marie Librizzi in House District 77, Democrat Rep. Paul Takac and Republican Therese Hollen in House District 82, Republican Kerry Benninghoff in House District 171, Republican Sen. Cris Dush and Democrat Bill McGill in Pennsylvania’s Senate District 25 and Republican Sen. Wayne Langerholc in PA Senate District 35.
Zooming in on the race for House District 77, Librizzi raised and spent more in cycle 5 than Conklin, an incumbent who has been in office since 2006. Librizzi spent more than double what Conklin spent, and raised a few grand more than he did, although he has significantly more cash on hand because he brought forward more funds from previous cycles.
In the other contested House race in Centre County, House District 82, the incumbent outspent and outraised his challenger. Takac raised more than 25x the amount Hollen raised in cycle 5.
Benninghoff and Langerholc, both incumbents, are running unopposed in their respective races.
Campaign finance reports for Hollen and McGill were not available on the state’s campaign finance website as of Friday, although Hollen provided the CDT with her filing. The Pennsylvania Department of State couldn’t definitively determine if either report had been filed because it is still receiving reports filed on time via the mail. This story will be updated when the reports are posted.
Hollen said she filed her report electronically, and it’s unclear why it’s not posted with the DOS; a spokesperson had not responded by Friday morning.
Hollen shared the filing with the CDT. She reported raising $5,200 in cycle 5 and spending $3,713.92 but the filing did not include itemized expenses that would be required by the DOS.
The state sets deadlines for when candidates need to file throughout the year. The most recent filing, cycle 5, was required to be electronically submitted by Oct. 25 or postmarked by Oct. 24, and covers May 14 through Oct. 21.
Below is how much each candidate in House districts 82, 77 and 171, and Senate districts 25 and 35 has raised and spent in their respective races, as well as top donors and largest aggregate expenses.
Candidates are now in a 24-hour reporting period (cycle 11), where they have to report each day beginning Oct. 21 if they received any donations, up to and including Nov. 5. Though some have reported donations, they aren’t included in the Department of State’s tally yet, although cycle 11 donations posted before Thursday are included in the top donors data in this article.
Cris Dush, Republican, PA Senate 25
Friends of Cris Dush, of which Dush is listed as a supported candidate, brought $8,231.77 forward from the last report. In cycle 5 he raised $26,925 and spent $28,344.38. He has $6,812.39 on hand.
Largest contributions from political committees:
$6,000, PGCC PAC
$5,000 Friends of Scott Martin
$1,000 Clinton County Republican Party
$1,000, Operators For Skill PAC
$1,000, PA Amusement and Music Machine Association
Largest individual contributions:
$10,000, Daniel Hawbaker, Port Matilda, president and CEO of Glenn O. Hawbaker, Inc.
$1,500, Sandra and Robert Poole Jr., State College
$1,000, Ara Kervandjian, State College
$1,000, Jennifer and John Williams, Lock Haven, president of Harger Utilities Contractors
$1,000, Judson Kroh, Pittsburgh, president of Robindale
$1,000, Lori and John Wagner, Brookville, Podiatrist (self-employed)
$1,000, Melissa and Michael Hawbaker, Port Matilda
His largest expense was $21,000 to Politeia Group LLC to “investigate voter list.” Dush’s campaign treasurer did not respond to an inquiry about what this entailed.
He reported one in-kind donation in the amount of $510.63 from Greater Tomorrow PAC.
William (Bill) McGill, Democrat, PA Senate 25
As of Friday, there was no cycle 5 report posted on the campaign finance site. McGill’s campaign did not respond to an inquiry about the status of the filing.
Wayne Langerholc, Republican, PA Senate 35
Wayne Langerholc for Senate, of which Langerholc is listed as a supported candidate, brought $231,542.27 forward from the last report. In cycle 5 he raised $148,300 and spent $100,423.20. He has $279,419.07 on hand.
Largest contributions from political committees:
$12,500, PAA PAC
$12,500, Transportation Construct Indust PAC (CIi-PAC)
$5,500, Keystone Strategic Advocacy PAC
$5,000, International Association Of Heat And Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Political Action Committee
$5,000, International Union of Operating Engineers
$5,000, Mid-Atlantic Laborers’ Political League
$5,000, Rail Moves America PAC
Largest individual contributions:
$10,000, Paul I. Detwiler III, Everett
$10,000, William C. Polacek, Johnstown, President/CEO of JWF Industries
$7,500, Larry J. Nulton, Johnstown
$3,000, Nicholas D. Varischetti, Pittsburgh
$2,500, Dennis H. Troy, Pittsburgh
$2,500, Robert J. Young, Hollidaysburg
$2,500, Robert M. McGowan, Johnstown
$2,500, Thomas F. Deter, Johnstown
His largest aggregate expense was a $40,000 donation to Friends of Devlin, a PAC supporting Republican Devlin Robinson’s campaign for Pennsylvania’s 37th state senate district.
Scott Conklin, Democrat, HD-77
Friends of Scott Conklin, of which Scott Conklin is a supported candidate, brought forward $21,453.30 from the last report. In cycle 5, he raised $17,500 and spent $8,758.39. He has $30,194.91 on hand.
He has raised $200 in small dollar donations (under $50).
Largest contributions from political committees:
$5,000, Pilots’ Association for the Bay and River Delaware PAC
$2,500, Teamsters Local 8 PAC
$2,000, AFSCME Council 13 Pol & Leg Acct
$2,000, PA Bankers Pub Affairs (PABPAC)
$1,000 each from: North Central Pennsylvanians For A Brighter Future , Duane Morris Govt Com, Greater PA Carpenters PAC, JP Morgan Chase & Co PAC, and LAWPAC (Pa Assoc. For Justice)
Largest individual contributions:
$250, Paul Hallacher, State College, retired
$100, Dorothy Aylward, State College
$100, Elizabeth Wilkinson, State College
$100, Richard London, State College
His largest aggregate expense was $5,000 to the Pennsylvania House Democratic Committee for “ad funding.”
Marie Librizzi, Republican, HD-77
The Committee to Elect Marie Librizzi, of which Librizzi is listed as a supported candidate, brought $125.39 forward from the last report. In cycle 5 she raised $24,281.32 and spent $21,640.23. She has $2,766.18 on hand.
She has raised $525 in small dollar donations (under $50).
Largest contributions from political committees:
$5,000, GT Commonwealth Fund
$1,000, Langerholc for Senate
$100, Centre County Republican Committee
Largest individual contributions are:
$8,000, Robert Shearer, Boalsburg, self-employed
$5,000, Daniel Hawbaker, Port Matilda
$1,000, Bruce Helms, Port Matilda
$800, Kathleen Davies, Pennsylvania Furnace
$500, Beth Irvin, Port Matilda
$500, Terry Kordes, Port Matilda
Her largest aggregate expense was $15,000 to Marketing Strategies for a media campaign and marketing.
Paul Takac, Democrat, HD-82
Friends of Paul Takac, of which Takac is listed as a supported candidate, brought $56,140.08 forward from the last report. In cycle 5 he raised $137,114.75 and spent $136,568.08. He has $56,686.75 on hand.
He raised $3,687.45 in small dollar donations (under $50).
Largest contributions from political committees:
$10,250, PSEA PACE
$10,250, American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO Council 13
$7,500, Friends of Matt Bradford
$5,500, House Democratic Campaign Committee
$5,000, Pennsylvania SEIU COPE
Largest individual contributions are:
$5,000, Andrew F. Rumer, San Francisco, retired
$5,000, April Fullington, Lemont, Owner of Fullington Trailways
$2,500, Barbara Simons, San Francisco, unemployed
$2,500, Evan Myers, State College, COO at Accuweather
$2,500, Tomas Torres, Houston, unemployed
His largest aggregate expense was $88,100 to the Pennsylvania House Democratic Committee for mailings and campaign materials/services.
Takac had $120,179.88 in in-kind donations. The largest aggregate in-kind donation was $71,861 from the House Democratic Campaign Committee for production of digital/TV ads.
He has a $5,000 unpaid debt to himself from the 2022 election cycle.
Therese Hollen, Republican, HD-82
As of Friday, there was no cycle 5 report posted on the campaign finance site. Hollen said it was submitted electronically and shared the filing with the CDT. She reported raising $5,200 in cycle 5 and spending $3,713.92, but the shared filing did not include itemized expenses as required by the DOS.
The filing she shared with the CDT states she brought forward $12,914.83 from a previous cycle, but previous reports on the DOS site do not include that amount. (Hollen said Friday morning that her team is investigating the discrepancy). That shared filing states she has $14,400.91 on hand.
Largest contributions from political committees:
$1,000, Langerholc for Senate
Largest individual contributions:
$3,400, Daniel Hawbaker, Port Matilda
$500, Mark and Kimberly Capriani, Bellefonte
$200, Tim and Kaitlyn Kessling, Pleasant Gap
$100, Michael and Carol Kuchner, State College
Kerry Benninghoff, Republican, HD-171
Benninghoff for Rep Committee, of which Benninghoff is listed as a supported candidate, brought $81,063.06 forward from the last report. In cycle 5 he raised $43,676.02 and spent $52,415.32. He has $72,323.76 on hand.
He has raised $85 in small dollar donations (under $50).
Largest contributions from political committees:
$5,000, Pennsylvania Aggregates & Concrete Assn PAC
$2,500, PAA-PAC
$2,500, PA Future Fund
$2,500, Transportation Construction Industries PAC
$2,000, Operators for Skill PAC
$2,000, Pennsylvania Bankers Public Affairs Committee
Largest individual contributions:
$2,500, Judson L. Kroh, Pittsburgh, President of Robindale Energy
$1,041.02, Teresa Ringenbach, Plain City, Ohio, Vice President of Corporate Affairs for Nationwide Energy Partners
$1,000, Demar and Roseann Guerrini, Lewistown, Owner of Frank Guerrini Vending
$1,000, William and Donna Lake, Lewistown, Owner of Lake Ford
$350 each from: Joel and Rachael Diamond, of Reedsville, General Manager of Krentzman; Mark and Ruth Eddy, of Lewistown, realtor at Gold Key Real Estate & Appraising; Andrew and Diana Friberg, of State College, president and owner of Spectra Inc.; Michael and Marjorie Halloran, of Belleville, president and owner of Advent Medical Technologies; Patrick and Jennifer Hawbaker, of Port Matilda, vice president of Glenn O. Hawbaker; Paul G. Howes, of State College, president and CEO of Inotek Pharmaceuticals; Oscar W. Johnston, of Petersburg, retired; Harvard K. McCardle, of Lewistown, co-owner of Boulevard Station Car Wash; Nathan and Annie Metzler, of Reedsville, general manager of Metzler Biochar; David and Emily Miller, of Lewistown, co-owner of Penn State Construction J&D LLC; Kelly and Tim Wilkins, of Boalsburg, self-employed; John and Allyson Zook, of Belleville, owner of Zook’s Masonry LLC.
His largest aggregate expense was $40,000 to the House Republican Campaign Committee for election ads and support.