HARRISBURG — Republican Stacy Garrity raised more money in the past five weeks than she did during the rest of her campaign for governor, much of it tied to the skill games industry.
Between Sept. 15 and Oct. 19, Garrity raised almost $5.4 million. She’s still being outraised by Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, who brought in $8.4 million in the same period.
But the influx is fueling a surge of TV ads from Garrity’s campaign that attack Shapiro in the closing days of the Nov. 3 election as polls show her trailing by double digits.
Garrity spokesperson Matt Beynon did not address specific questions from Spotlight PA about the campaign’s fundraising, only saying that “the difference between where Josh Shapiro raises money and who supports Stacy Garrity could not be a starker contrast.”
Regulating skill games is one of Harrisburg’s thorniest issues. The games brought in money for small businesses and social clubs, and major industry players have sunk millions into lobbying the legislature and donating to campaigns. But casinos, also a powerful force in the state, have long seen skill games as an under-regulated threat. The issue deeply divides lawmakers, and not just along party lines.
The state Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that skill games are legally slot machines and can only operate in casinos and some truck stops, but stayed enforcement until Oct. 13 to give the legislature time to consider action. (Lawmakers ended up doing nothing.)
Garrity has been friendly to skill game stakeholders throughout her campaign. She headlined a pro-skill games rally in Pittsburgh this month, and has pushed for an industry-backed regulatory and tax structure. In May, she also accepted a $33,500 in-kind contribution of a flight from Michael Pace, the founder of Georgia-based skill games developer Pace-O-Matic.
During the most recent reporting period, Garrity received at least $4.5 million linked to the industry, more than 80% of her total fundraising. Most of that was from two large donations.
She received $2 million from the Pennsylvania Amusement and Music Machine Association, which represents “the operators and businesses that power coin-operated entertainment across the state,” including pool tables, darts, and skill games. The group did not respond to a request for comment.
Another $2 million came from John D. Conley, the Pittsburgh-based owner of skill games developer Pinnacle Vending. At an industry rally outside the state Capitol last month, he urged lawmakers to legalize the machines before the state Supreme Court’s deadline.
“It’s bad,” Conley told Spotlight PA at the time. “People have anxiety already.”
Conley did not respond to a request for comment left at his office.
Conley and his father, John F. “Duffy” Conley, were named in court documents last year and accused of leading an “illegal gambling enterprise” that made millions of dollars annually by distributing and operating illegal video gambling terminals. The target of that statewide grand jury investigation was a former Pace-O-Matic compliance director who allegedly took hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks — including $100,000 from the Conleys — for overlooking complaints issued against illegal machines.
Neither Conley was charged in connection with that probe.
The elder Conley has a long history of legal trouble associated with his involvement in various gambling industries. Earlier this year, Buffalo Skills Games, Inc. and J.J. Amusement, Inc. pleaded guilty to a felony charge of operating a corrupt organization and agreed to forfeit $5 million and dissolve as part of a plea agreement with the state Office of Attorney General. John F. Conley owned the companies, but was not charged personally in that case.
Another Pittsburgh-based skill games distributor, Joseph Rocca, separately gave $500,000 to Garrity’s campaign.
Of the skill games donations, Shapiro campaign spokesperson Manuel Bonder told Spotlight PA that Garrity “is raking in millions in contributions from special interest groups to try and save her disastrous campaign as she and her Senate Republican allies block progress for Pennsylvania. Garrity’s desperation and willingness to sell out our Commonwealth is clear — and we’re going to keep holding her accountable every day until election day.”
Shapiro has also received cash from the skill games industry, including $50,000 from the industry’s main PAC as recently as June, as have dozens of state lawmakers.
In addition to Garrity, John D. Conley gave $47,777 to state Senate Republicans’ campaign committee in September, $2,500 to the Senate Democratic Campaign Committee in August, $2,777 to Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa (D., Allegheny) in September, and $5,000 to Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R., Indiana) in June.
Shapiro raises over $8 million
Between Sept. 15 and Oct. 19, Garrity also received $100,000 from PA Future Fund, which is tied to former GOP state party chair Bob Asher, of Asher’s Chocolate, and $20,000 from Bucks County venture capitalist Paul Martino.
Shapiro, meanwhile, raised just over $8 million in the final weeks of the campaign. His largest donations included $500,000 each from Thomas Hagen, former CEO of Erie Insurance Group, and Margaret Hardy, former owner and CEO of 84 Lumber. He also received $500,000 from the Democratic Governors Association, and at least $1.5 million collectively from a host of groups representing union workers in various industries.
During the same period, Garrity spent $3.3 million, mostly on TV advertising and direct mail. Shapiro spent some $24 million, including at least $13 million on media buys and advertising.
His campaign also contributed $1 million and $2 million to his party’s House and Senate campaign arms, respectively, as Democrats work toward winning a trifecta. To the state party, his campaign gave nearly $3.4 million.
All told, Shapiro’s campaign has vastly outspent Garrity’s, dropping almost $70 million since the start of 2025 compared to roughly $7 million in the same time period. They are entering the final week of the race with similar cash on hand — $4.3 million for Shapiro and $3.3 million for Garrity.
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