Results in the five most expensive Democratic Pennsylvania Senate primaries


Democratic primary elections for 22 of 49 seats in the Pennsylvania State Senate took place on May 17, 2022. Of the 22 seats up for election in 2022, four had a primary election with more than one candidate.

Across all contested Democratic primary elections, candidates raised $1.0 million. Incumbents raised an average of $656,824 per candidate and challengers raised an average of $47,291 per candidate.

Four primary elections with the most fundraising

The table below details the four Democratic primary elections with the most fundraising in the State Senate. Winning candidates’ names are in bold.

District Money Raised Officeholder Candidates
District 8 $792,953 Anthony Williams (D) Anthony Williams and Paul Prescod
District 14 $206,977 John Yudichak (I) Tara Zrinski, Nick Miller, and Yamelisa Taveras
District 24 $35,225 Bob Mensch (R) Jill Dennin and Emanuel Wilkerson
District 34 $0 Jake Corman III (R) Jim Massey and Rick Coplen

#1 District 8 – $792,953

Incumbent Anthony Williams raised $656,824 and Paul Prescod raised $136,130.

Anthony Williams advanced to the general election with 61 percent of the vote and Paul Prescod received 39 percent of the vote.

#2 District 14 – $206,977

Tara Zrinski raised $146,401, Nick Miller raised $57,261, and Yamelisa Taveras raised $3,315.

Tara Zrinski received NaN percent of the vote, Nick Miller received NaN percent of the vote, and Yamelisa Taveras received NaN percent of the vote.

#3 District 24 – $35,225

Jill Dennin raised $35,225 and Emanuel Wilkerson raised $0.

Jill Dennin advanced to the general election with 73 percent of the vote and Emanuel Wilkerson received 27 percent of the vote.

#4 District 34 – $0

Jim Massey raised $0 and Rick Coplen raised $0.

Jim Massey advanced to the general election with 100 percent of the vote and Rick Coplen withdrew.

The data above are based on campaign finance reports that active Pennsylvania PACs submitted to the Pennsylvania Department of State. Federal PACs are not required to report to state agencies. Transparency USA publishes campaign finance data following major reporting deadlines. State or federal law may require filers to submit additional reports.

Report Name Report Due Date
2021 Annual (C7) 1/31/2022
2022 Pre-Primary (C1) 4/05/2022
2022 Pre-Primary (C2) 5/9/2022
2022 Post-Primary (C3) 6/20/2022
2022 Pre-General (C4) 9/22/2022
2022 Pre-General (C5) 10/31/2022
2022 Post-General (C6) 12/12/2022
2022 Annual (C7) 2/1/2023

This article is a joint publication from Ballotpedia and Transparency USA, who are working together to provide campaign finance information for state-level elections. Learn more about our work here.