Governor Josh Shapiro of Abington Township raised $23.2 million overall in 2025, compared with $1.5 million reported by his opponent and State Treasurer Stacy Garrity, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported based on recently released campaign filings.
According to their analysis, Shapiro raised at least $8.5 million from nearly 240 CEOs, founders, business owners, and other top executives as part of his gubernatorial campaign last year. Donations from top executives represent 50.8% of the $16.8 million he raised from donors who listed their occupation in campaign finance filings, which “could invite scrutiny ahead of 2028”, The Inquirer wrote.
“Shapiro donors’ business interests include everything from data center construction to state regulation of slot machine-style games and approvals for a nuclear reactor,” The Inquirer wrote.
Shapiro has repeatedly emphasized that “Pennsylvania is open for business” in his discussions and social media posts, a strategy which “appears to have won over many executives,” The Inquirer wrote. At a National Governors Association event in December, he said, “When you think about getting stuff done … it requires focus and speed. We’ve gotta be speedier as a country.”
In November, the Shapiro administration announced that it would run “at the speed of business” under the Streamlining Permits for Economic Expansion and Development (SPEED) program. Yesterday, Shapiro posted:
When I took office, other states had the key infrastructure in place for companies to come in and start building on day one.
Pennsylvania didn’t.
Under my Administration, we’ve turned that around — and now, we’re securing major deals and bringing thousands of good-paying jobs to communities all across our Commonwealth.
He also posted yesterday that “Pennsylvania is open for business. But don’t take my word for it — just look at the facts.”
The post includes the infographic below:
Last month, Johnson & Johnson announced that it is looking to build a $1 billion next generation cell therapy manufacturing facility in the Spring House section of Lower Gwynedd Township. Shapiro said the following in a press release regarding the deal:
Pennsylvania is a powerhouse for innovation and manufacturing in the life sciences. Just a few years ago we weren’t even on the field – but today we’re competing and winning. We’ve done it by creating the first economic development plan for Pennsylvania in 2 decades, and following through on it by cutting red tape, making strategic investments in key industries like the life sciences, and strengthening our workforce. That’s why companies like Johnson & Johnson are choosing to double down on their investments here in our Commonwealth – because they know we’ve got the strategy, the workforce, and the speed they need to succeed.
“Johnson & Johnson’s $1 billion investment to expand in Montgomery County is going to put 4,500 Pennsylvanians to work,” Shapiro posted on March 2. “That’s 4,500 families with a stable income, a job they can rely on, and REAL opportunity.”
Shapiro’s largest campaign donation, $2.5 million, came from billionaire and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is “a big fan of Gov. Shapiro and a big believer in his leadership, and thinks he’s done a great job for Pennsylvania,” adviser Howard Wolfson told Axios.
Other contributors included a Florida developer who is building Pennsylvania data centers, a Chicago crypto trader, and a Southwestern Pennsylvania coal magnate.
“We are concerned about any elected leaders taking monetary donations from corporate interests regardless of who they are,” Ashley Funk, executive director of a nonprofit that opposes the donor’s coal mining expansion, told The Inquirer. “I think that it influences decision-making.”
In January, Shapiro announced that his campaign ended with roughly $33 million in the bank. According to CBS News, his campaign said the amount is a finance record for any contending governor in Pennsylvania history. You can read Shapiro’s Campaign Finance Profile here.
Garrity received nearly $380,000 from more than 60 CEOs and other top business executives, which represents about 41% of her contributions from donors who listed their occupation in campaign-finance filings.
“Liberal national donors may be investing in Josh Shapiro’s political vanity project, but hardworking Pennsylvanians are seeing nothing in return,” Garrity said in a statement, pointing out that the state budget now has a $4.3 billion shortfall.
In a February fundraising email (as reported by Spotlight PA’s donor coverage from today), Garrity’s campaign wrote that “Josh Shapiro thinks he’s got this race locked up … sitting on a mountain of cash. Campaigns aren’t powered by Harrisburg insiders. They’re powered by people like you.”
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Photo: Commonwealth Media Services