(Mark Makela/Getty Images)

On May 21, Pennsylvanians in the 12th Congressional District will take to the polls for a special election to determine their new congressman. Outside groups are looking to boost Republican state representative Fred Keller in his contest against Democratic candidate and Penn State professor Marc Friedenberg.

The deeply conservative district in north-central Pennsylvania had been represented by Rep. Tom Marino since 2011. Marino abruptly resigned in January 2019 after winning reelection over Friedenberg by 32 points in November.

On May 20, President Donald Trump will hold a rally in support of Keller in Lycoming County.

Even with the past history of Republican success in the region, two outside groups have launched spending on Keller’s behalf in the run-up to the special election. The Freedom’s Defense Fund PAC dropped $10,000 on digital ad buys near the end of April. The PAC describes itself as a supporter of limited government and conservative values.

Another outside group, the Supporting Electing American Leaders (SEAL) PAC, also spent $10,000 on digital ads in support of Keller. SEAL PAC is affiliated with former Interior Secretary and one-time Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.) who resigned amid multiple investigations into unethical behavior as a Cabinet secretary.

The super PAC House Freedom Action, affiliated with the strict conservative House Freedom Caucus, spent almost $41,737 over the past few weeks on postage, direct mailings and digital ads supporting Keller’s candidacy. The super PAC, which boasts praise from caucus leaders Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), endorses Keller, along with four others including current Freedom Caucus member Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.).

In terms of fundraising, Keller also has an advantage. In his latest updated fundraising figures, he brought in $397,793, with the biggest chunk of it ($258,530) coming from itemized individual contributions over $200. He only raised around $29,659 from unitemized contributions.

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Both Trump and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce endorsed Keller at the beginning of May. They joined other conservative organizations such as the Club for Growth and National Right to Life.

Keller benefited from $133,758 worth of transfers from other PACs and committees, including from powerful Republican leaders. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) Majority Committee PAC contributed $5,000. The leadership PAC for House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), Eye of the Tiger PAC, sent $5,000 Keller’s way and Scalise’s campaign committee gave $2,000. Rep. Liz Cheney’s (R-Wy.) Cowboy PAC contributed $2,500.

Trump administration official and former Pennsylvania Republican gubernatorial candidate Paul Mango contributed the max of $2,800 to Keller.

Keller’s campaign spent about half of his campaign war chest by May 1, around $260,423. At the start of May, his cash-on-hand sat at almost $137,370.

In terms of the money race, Friedenberg does not trail by too much. His cash-on-hand through May 1 was $134,890, having raised $153,998 over the past few months to add to his coffers left over from the unsuccessful 2018 race.

Friedenberg did better than Keller in terms of small donors, collecting $62,672 from unitemized individual contributions. Unlike Keller, Friedenberg didn’t get any major money from PACs, business nor leadership, just a couple thousand from state and local Democratic parties, perhaps signifying the long-shot chance of his candidacy. However, he does boast the endorsements of the DCCC, the Sierra Club, Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), former Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) and Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman, among others.



Supportive of issues like Medicare-for-All and the Green New Deal, Friedenberg may run into difficulty securing an upset in a district that Trump won by a whopping 35 points in 2016.



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