Bill Shuster's foes seek grassroots support, not cash

FRANKLIN COUNTY - Incumbent Rep. Bill Shuster, chairman of the House transportation committee, has nearly $1 million on hand to spend in the last month of his re-election campaign.

Shuster, R-Everett, faces two challengers who have little money left. His committee has already spent more than $2.7 million on the campaign. Congressional candidates were required to file quarterly campaign financial reports by Saturday with the Federal Election Commission.

Halvorson cited in county fair dispute

Both Art Halvorson, a tea party conservative, and Adam Sedlock Jr., a Democratic write-in candidate, are counting on grassroots efforts to win Pennsylvania’s 9th Congressional District seat. Election Day is Nov. 8.

“The notion that money is the mother’s milk is being redefined by this campaign,” Halvorson said. “This is asymmetric political warfare.”

A stubborn Halvorson narrowly lost the 2016 GOP primary to Shuster and unexpectedly won the Democratic nomination with write-in votes. A registered Republican, Halvorson is wearing the Democratic label on the ballot this fall. The real estate entrepreneur and retired Coast Guard captain from Manns Choice has less than $10,000 left in his war chest, according to his committee’s FEC report. He largely has financed his campaign with his own money.

Sedlock, a registered Democrat and a Uniontown psychologist, is running a write-in campaign this fall. Sedlock said his campaign has raised less than $5,000, the trigger for reporting to the FEC. His write-in tally from the Democratic primary in April fell short of Halvorson’s total.

The three candidates will appear in two candidate forums during the next week in the western part of the district – Fayette and Indiana counties. No other forums are planned.

Sedlock could benefit from the three-way race with Shuster and Halvorson splitting the Republican vote, but he must surmount the difficulties of running a write-in campaign in one of the state’s largest congressional districts. The 9th District extends across 12 counties, including all of Franklin, Fulton, Bedford, Blair and Indiana counties.

“In a way it’s interesting how this has all unfolded,” Sedlock said. “It’s unfortunate Mr. Halvorson is a man without a party. It would be a different campaign if my name was on the ballot.”

Sedlock said the Pennsylvania Democratic Party has printed materials for him, and Hillary Clinton campaign volunteers are distributing them door-to-door. They also are making telephone calls on his behalf.

“Grassroots. Ground gain,” Sedlock said. “That’s what you do with a write-in. You touch people personally.”

Shuster outspent Halvorson more than 15-to-1 in the Republican primary, which Shuster won with a slight majority.

“This is not unfamiliar territory for us,” said Joe Sterns, Halvorson’s campaign chairman. “We’ve got residual name identification from the primary. The voters know who Art Halvorson is, and they like him, and they don’t like Bill Shuster.”

Halvorson said he is seeing a return on the money his committee spent in the 2014 and 2016 primaries.

“People are still reminding me about the time I came to their door two years ago," Halvorson said. "The media coverage we are experiencing is phenomenal."

Social media is the great equalizer, Sterns said.  A Halvorson attack video with a short run on television has been seen 60,000 times on Facebook. Halvorson’s wife just completed a Facebook video.

“Add in Art’s army of dozens of dedicated volunteers, that’s why we’re comfortable with the position we’re in,” Sterns said.

In his latest mailings and videos, Shuster has focused on his own family values in response to attacks on himself and his father, former Rep. Bud Shuster, for their personal involvement with lobbyists while serving in the House. Bill Shuster’s children, Ali and Garrett, and his ex-wife, Rebecca, defend his values in 30-second videos.

In the next three weeks “Congressman Shuster will continue talking to the voters about his record and asking them for their support,” said Casey Contres, Shuster campaign chairman.

Contres, former communications director for Shuster’s office staff, started managing in August the congressman’s bid for an eighth full term in Congress.

In July, August and September Shuster’s campaign committee spent $284,108 compared to $12,390 spent by Halvorson’s committee, according to FEC reports. The Shuster committee raised nearly $450,000 in the three months to Halvorson’s $21,844. At least one more Shuster fundraiser is scheduled before the election.

Halvorson’s committee reported less than $10,000 on hand although the number does not include $61,000 cash on hand reported at the end of the previous quarter.

“We are in conversation with our FEC contact trying to resolve those discrepancies,” Halvorson said. “I’m sure it’s the lower number in any case.”

Halvorson’s campaign previously was late in filing his financial disclosure statements.

“That was a mistake on our part,” he said. “It was resolved immediately.”

The disclosure statement was unchanged from the statement his filed a year earlier, he said.

More than 60 percent of Shuster's contributions have come from political action committees, according to OpenSecrets.org.

Candidate forums

• The candidate forum in Fayette County will be livestreamed by sponsor Herald Standard, Uniontown. Visit www.heraldstandard.com. It will be held at 6 p.m. Friday in Magerko Auditorium on the Eberly Campus of Penn State Fayette.  Christopher Whitlatch, chief executive officer of Mon Valley Alliance, will moderate the forum. He will pose questions from the newspaper’s editorial board and the audience.
• The League of Women Voters of Indiana County will hold a Candidates Night at 7 p.m. on Oct. 27 at the Oak Place Community Center, 1055 Oak Street, Indiana. Renda Broadcasting Corporation and the Indiana Gazette will co-sponsor the forum. The forum will be broadcast over AM radio station 1160 WCCS.