Three of Allegheny County’s most hotly contested state House races in next week’s midterms have drawn more than $3 million in spending, new financial disclosures show.
The race for the airport-area 44th District has drawn almost $2 million alone, with Democrats pushing hard to flip a seat President Donald Trump carried by four percentage points in 2024.
The money is largely coming from typical sources, like labor unions, political action committees and each party’s statewide organization. In two of the three races, statewide Democratic groups fueled in part by Gov. Josh Shapiro’s recent financial contributions are coming to the aid of that party’s candidates.
The campaign for Hadley Haas, the Democratic nominee in the 44th, reported spending more than $760,000 between June 9 and Oct. 19. That’s far more than any other legislative candidate in the region, and more than triple the spending of her opponent, incumbent Republican Rep. Valerie Gaydos.
Haas’ campaign received $100,000 from a PAC supported by the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association and $67,000 from the PAC for America’s Future, which has supported Democratic candidates nationally. The Pennsylvania Democratic Party and an associated House campaign committee gave Haas more than $860,000 worth of support, including mail and television ads.
The Pennsylvania Republican Party spent about $120,000 on campaign mailers supporting Gaydos. Her campaign’s largest direct contribution was $10,000 from the Harrisburg-based PA Aggregates and Concrete Association PAC.
Gaydos was first elected in 2018. Democrats have never won the seat, but Trump’s narrow win there in 2024 has Haas on the offensive.
Gaydos criticized Haas for accepting support from outside the district and state, saying she did so “since her values are outside the mainstream of this district.” She singled out the $100,000 check from the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers’ PAC, saying “those are the people who’ve driven up healthcare costs through the roof.”
Haas said in a written statement to Public Source that most of her donors live in Pennsylvania and her financial edge represents greater enthusiasm for her campaign, adding that Gaydos “will try to spin to hide from the facts.”
“I have also earned the support of important Pennsylvania leaders like Gov. Josh Shapiro, which has elevated my platform and helped us to build a strong statewide platform.”
Cranberry: Disclosed party support one-sided, so far
To the north, a battle is unfolding for the political soul of Cranberry and its surroundings. Democrats flipped the 12th District, a longtime Republican stronghold, in a narrowly decided August special election, and the campaign finance reports show a competitive race as Republicans look to reclaim it in November.
The campaign for Rep. Brandon Dukes, the Democrat who won the special election, reported outspending Republican nominee Scott Timko by more than 2-to-1 from Aug. 29 to Oct. 19. There’s an even larger disparity in how each candidate’s party is helping: Dukes reported more than $825,000 in in-kind support from the Pennsylvania Democratic Party and the House Democratic Campaign Committee. Timko reported just $50 in in-kind support from the Republican Party of Pennsylvania.
Timko campaign consultant Chris Nicholas said the House Republican Campaign Committee has funded a TV ad on Timko’s behalf, but did not say how much was spent. He referred questions to the HRCC, which did not respond to requests for comment.
Regarding the surge of money in support of Dukes, Nicholas said, “The Philly Dems pulling Rep. Dukes’ strings know he is very much out of touch with his constituents, so it takes a lot of money to try to conceal that.”
Dukes said in a statement his campaign contributions show community excitement “to finally have a state representative who actually cares about improving everyday life in Butler County.” He said the organizational donors “align with my legislative priorities” related to lowering the cost of living and road traffic. “But no donor, organization or party will ever influence me to vote against my community’s needs,” he said.
A third competitive race, the South Hills’ 44th District, shows an incumbent Republican on firmer footing. Rep. Natalie Mihalek outspent Democratic challenger Jon Lloyd three-fold from June 9 to Oct. 19, a margin not fully overshadowed by $98,000 in help for Lloyd from Democratic committees.
Governor’s race: Garrity picks up pace thanks to skill games
The gap in party support is a downstream effect of the finances in the governor’s race. Shapiro has raised more than $63 million since 2025 and from that he’s channeled millions to the state party to support downballot candidates. Republican gubernatorial nominee Stacy Garrity has not kept up, raising $9.6 million during the same period, leaving far less to spread around to other candidates.
Shapiro continued fundraising at a blistering pace since the last disclosure in September, raising $8.6 million from Sept. 15 to Oct. 19 and largely spending down his campaign account, leaving $4.3 million for the final stretch. He gave $3 million more to committees working to elect Democrats to the state legislature, on top of $5.6 million earlier this year.
Garrity posted her best fundraising period to date, raising $5.4 million. With two weeks to go until Election Day, Garrity’s campaign had spent $7.2 million since the start of 2025 — one-tenth of Shapiro’s spending during that time. Her campaign’s revenue this period came largely from two sources: $2 million from an organization that represents operators of skill games and other amusement devices, and $2 million from John D. Conley, who disclosure forms indicate lives in Pittsburgh and works for Pinnacle Vending LLC.
Shapiro’s largest contributions this period included $500,000 each from retired insurance executive Thomas Hagen and 84 Lumber executive Margaret Hardy.
Charlie Wolfson is Pittsburgh Public Source’s local government reporter. He can be reached at charlie@publicsource.org.
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