Allegheny County, PA Executive: Termed-out incumbent Rich Fitzgerald is set to host a fundraiser Monday for Pittsburgh Controller Michael Lamb, a move that counts as a May 16 Democratic primary endorsement whether or not the incumbent uses that word. As we’ve written before, while plenty of politicians like to insist that helping someone raise money is different than actually backing them (Fitzgerald declined to comment when the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette asked him if he was for Lamb in the May 16 Democratic primary), that’s a true distinction without a difference.
After all, it's not as though the concept of an "endorsement" has any legal significance. If anything, headlining a fundraising event is a much bigger deal than simply slapping your name on a press release announcing you're endorsing someone: One generates actual dollars, the other generates … a press release. If Fitzgerald later helped another of Lamb’s intra-party rivals bring in some cash that would be a different story, but otherwise, we’re going to call this an endorsement whether or not the incumbent is using that word right now.
In any case, Lamb could use the cash right now. The Post-Gazette, utilizing data from AdImpact, wrote Tuesday that county Treasurer John Weinstein has spent or booked $800,000 in advertising, compared to $292,000 for attorney Dave Fawcett. State Rep. Sara Innamorato, by contrast, has deployed $142,000, while Lamb’s recent opening buy had a mere $19,000 behind it.