The numbers are in: After the vote totals, the campaign spending reports are due
The campaign committee of Traci McDonald-Kemp spent just over $24,000 in the final reporting period related to the May 21 primary in her successful quest to capture both the Republican and Democratic nominations for a seventh seat on the Washington County bench.
McDonald-Kemp vastly outspent her opponent, Joyce Hatfield Wise.
The committee on behalf of McDonald-Kemp, the former deputy district attorney and Cecil Township-based magisterial district judge, enumerated printing, shirts and advertisement costs of nearly $10,000, while consulting services of a Pittsburgh company came to $4,000.
The candidate repaid herself for postage and other campaign expenses totaling $8,089. Direct mail also figured into the pre-primary push, with an in-kind contribution of $200 worth of postage stamps from Margaret Miller of the Washington area.
Danny Isiminger, owner of a local automotive business, contributed $400 worth of “election day poll worker materials.”
In a document filed in advance of the June 21 reporting deadline, Friends of Traci McDonald-Kemp reported indebtedness to the candidate’s father, James McDonald of Washington, totaling $21,000. That was the bulk of McDonald-Kemp’s $25,596 raised last year, and from Jan. 1 through May 10, her committee added $88,808 to its pre-primary total.
Thursday was the deadline for candidates to file reports from May 7 through June 10.
Hatfield Wise, from the beginning of her campaign to the end of the June 10 reporting period, spent a total of $9,837 for advertising and election-related expenses, according to reports available online and documents filed with the Washington County elections office.
The former Children and Youth Services attorney who now has a private practice of law garnered 26.2 percent of the Democratic vote to McDonald-Kemp’s 73.7. On the Republican ballot, McDonald-Kemp had 64.1 percent of the vote to Hatfield Wise’s 35.7 percent.
In the 2019 off-year election, county commission candidates are also on the ballot.
In the commissioners’ race, Republican Jason White spent $13,763 during the home stretch of the campaign in an unsuccessful bid to gain a nomination.
He reported unpaid debts and obligations of $65,000.
During the same period, Nick Sherman, who won the nomination along with incumbent Commissioner Diana Irey Vaughan, spent $40,388. Sherman reported loaning his committee $19,675.
White had 28.4 percent of the GOP vote to Sherman’s 31 percent.
Bobby Dellorso of Canonsburg spent $5,680 in the most recent reporting period in his failed attempt to replace one of the incumbent Democrats on the fall ticket, trailing with 26 percent of the vote.
Commissioners Larry Maggi and Harlan Shober ran as a Democratic slate. Maggi’s committee reported expenditures of $12,194 during the final weeks before the primary and post-primary, while the Shober committee’s report showed zero dollars spent.
In the Nov. 5 election, voters will have the opportunity to choose two candidates, and the top three vote-getters countywide will have seats on the board of commissioners to ensure minority-party representation.
The majority of county row offices, plus school board, and township, borough and city offices will be on the ballot in the autumn. Some voters will also see magisterial district judge races, although Michael Manfredi, Eric Porter and Joshua Kanalis will be running unopposed in the North Strabane, Charleroi and Centerville areas, respectively.
There is a magisterial race for the Canonsburg-based office between Democratic hopeful Chuckie Tenny and Republican nominee Jim Saieva.