GOP Pennsylvania Senate candidate Bartos touts war chest against Trump-backed opponent Parnell

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Republican Pennsylvania Senate candidate Jeff Bartos’ campaign highlighted its $2.5 million cash on hand against Trump-endorsed opponent Sean Parnell in the closely watched Republican primary for retiring Sen. Pat Toomey's seat. 

The Bartos campaign said it brought in $650,000 in third-quarter fundraising, and that a supportive outside super PAC, Jobs For Our Future, raised $1.65 million. Of the $650,000, $400,000 came from Bartos himself, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

But Parnell’s campaign outraised Bartos from July to September, bringing in $1.1 million, with an approximately $1 million war chest, according to the Washington Examiner.

"Jeff Bartos has proven himself to be the only candidate capable of building a coalition, carrying a message, and putting together the resources necessary to win this race," Bartos campaign manager Conor McGuinness said in a statement. 

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Pennsylvania GOP Senate candidate Jeff Bartos (https://jeffbartos.com/press-releases/)

Parnell has the endorsement of former President Donald Trump, who remains enormously popular among Republicans.

".@SeanParnellUSA is a genuine war hero, an America First patriot & the only candidate in PA who can defeat the Dems next Nov," Donald Trump Jr. tweeted last week when Parnell's fundraising numbers were announced. "That's why my father and I are all in on supporting him!!!"

Bartos and Parnell are the most high-profile candidates in a GOP primary field that includes well over a dozen candidates, including Kathy Barnette, the former Republican nominee in 2020 challenging Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa.

In this screenshot from the RNC’s livestream of the 2020 Republican National Convention, Pennsylvania congressional nominee Sean Parnell addresses the virtual convention on August 24, 2020. (Photo Courtesy of the Committee on Arrangements for the 2020 Republican National Committee via Getty Images)

Former Trump administration ambassador to Denmark Carla Sands is also in the Senate race, and according to the Philadelphia Inquirer has put $3 million of her own money into her campaign. Her campaign has $3 million cash and is spending some of it on TV ads, but it remains to be seen how much of a factor she can be in a race that includes the former Pennsylvania GOP nominee for lieutenant governor and the Trump-backed Parnell.

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There is also a pileup of candidates in the Democratic primary, including Rep. Conor Lamb, D-Pa., Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and at least three current state and local officeholders. 

The Pennsylvania Senate race will be key to control of the U.S. Senate in 2022. Republicans only have to net one seat to gain a majority in the chamber but are forced to defend several more seats than Democrats. 

If the GOP manages to hold Pennsylvania – which voted for President Biden in 2020 – then it could help tip the scales in its favor if it can beat vulnerable Democrats elsewhere, like Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., and Mark Kelly, D-Ariz.