Summer L. Lee
DIncumbentFEC H2PA18200
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Raised this cycle$1.6M
Cash on hand: $1.7M
2026 race
PA-12 — U.S. House
2 candidates on the November ballot. Incumbent: Summer L. Lee.
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See where these candidates stand — and who's funding them.
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How we got here · 2 earlier contests
Election held
Counting
Tuesday, November 3, 2026
Results appear here once a race is called and verified. Official returns from the Pennsylvania Department of State.
Make sure you can vote
Disclosed money in race
$1.8M
Candidate + outside spending. See finance breakdown below.
Incumbent
Currently in office
Challengers
Sorted by fundraising
James Kevin Hayes
RChallengerFEC H4PA12068
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Raised this cycle$81K
Cash on hand: $11K
4 defeated candidates — show
Adam Robert Forgie
DDefeatedChallengerFEC H6PA12097
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Raised this cycle$28K
Cash on hand: $0
William Parker
DDefeatedChallengerFEC H6PA12121
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Raised this cycle$20K
Cash on hand: $1K
Leonard Benson Fechter
RDefeatedChallengerFEC H6PA12105
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Raised this cycle$17K
Cash on hand: $7K
Bhavini Patel
DDefeatedChallengerFEC H2PA18259
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Raised this cycle$0
Cash on hand: $24K
Local signal
Early read on PA-12 — U.S. House
A directional read on where this seat is trending, from the signals we have so far. This is an early scaffold — more inputs light up as coverage and constituent activity accrue.
Coverage tone · the matchup
Recent news coverage of the nominees heading to the general election.
Summer L. Leelimited coverage
No coverage in our tracked outlets in the last 90 days.
James Kevin Hayeslimited coverage
No coverage in our tracked outlets in the last 90 days.
A media signal, not a poll of the district.
Constituent stakes
No one here has staked a position on a tracked vote yet. As neighbors weigh in on /pressure campaigns, the district's lean will show up here.
Money in the race
Finance breakdown
Disclosed funding shaping this race — both the money candidates raise themselves and the outside spending dropped by independent groups. Issue-ad spending by 501(c)(4) groups is excluded; the FEC doesn't require disclosure of it. See the note below for details.
Candidate fundraising: FEC reports through October 14, 2026 · 2025–26 cycle
Total disclosed
$1.8M
Candidate fundraising + independent expenditures (FEC).
Candidate-direct (Schedule A)
$1.8M
Raised by candidate committees themselves.
Outside spending (Schedule E)
$36K
$36K for · $23 against
| Candidate | Raised directly | Outside for | Outside against | Net in corner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Summer L. Lee(D)incumbent + WORKING FAMILIES PARTY PAC $14K + SOLIDARITY VICTORY PAC $12K + STRAIGHT AHEAD ORGANIZATION $4K − PENNSYLVANIA PRO-LIFE FEDERATION PAC $23 | $1.6M | $31K | $23 | $1.7M |
James Kevin Hayes(R) | $81K | — | — | $81K |
4 defeated candidates — show finances
| Candidate | Raised directly | Outside for | Outside against | Net in corner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Adam Robert Forgie(D)defeated + FORGIE VICTORY FUND $5K | $28K | $5K | — | $33K |
William Parker(D)defeated | $20K | — | — | $20K |
Leonard Benson Fechter(R)defeated | $17K | — | — | $17K |
Bhavini Patel(D)defeated | $0 | — | — | $0 |
Where the money comes from
In-state vs out-of-state
Share of each candidate's itemized individual contributions from donors inside PA versus the rest of the country. Excludes sub-$200 unitemized donations (no geography on file) and PAC money — see note below.
Summer L. Lee(D)21% in-state · $834K itemized
$177K in-state$656K out-of-state
James Kevin Hayes(R)96% in-state · $23K itemized
$22K in-state$1K out-of-state
2 defeated candidates — show
Adam Robert Forgie(D)defeated78% in-state · $18K itemized
$14K in-state$4K out-of-state
Leonard Benson Fechter(R)defeated45% in-state · $16K itemized
$7K in-state$9K out-of-state
What's counted, what isn't
Candidate-direct is each campaign's reported receipts on FEC Schedule A — individual contributions plus PAC contributions to the candidate's own committee — through the most recent filing.
Outside spending is independent expenditures on FEC Schedule E: money spent by PACs, super PACs, and party committees for or against a candidate, without legal coordination with the campaign. The committees listed under each candidate are the largest disclosed spenders on either side.
In-state vs out-of-state covers only itemized individual contributions — donations over $200, which are the only ones that carry a contributor address at the FEC. Sub-$200 unitemized donations (often a large share for grassroots campaigns) have no geography on file and are excluded, as is PAC money. So the percentages describe where a candidate's itemized individual money comes from, not where every dollar raised comes from.
Not counted: 501(c)(4) "social welfare" organizations run issue ads that frequently mention candidates by name but aren't classified as express advocacy under FEC rules — they file no Schedule E and don't appear in this breakdown. Press reporting on a race may cite figures that include this dark-money spending; ours doesn't.
Where they stand
Issue-by-issue comparison
Positions extracted from each candidate's campaign issues page by AI. Contested rows — where candidates disagree with each other — appear first.
| Statement | Lee | Hayes | You |
|---|---|---|---|
Agriculture SNAP (food stamp) eligibility and benefit levels should be expanded. | — | ||
Economy The federal minimum wage should be raised. | — | ||
Economy Reducing the national debt should be a higher priority than new spending. | — | ||
Economy The expanded child tax credit (refundable, paid monthly) should be made permanent. | — | ||
Education Parents should be able to use public funds — through vouchers — to send their kids to private or charter schools. | — | ||
Education The government should forgive some federal student loan debt. | — | ||
Environment The government should set legally enforceable limits on greenhouse gas emissions. | — | ||
Environment The government should stop subsidizing oil and gas companies. | — | ||
Guns All gun sales — including private ones — should require a background check. | — | ||
Guns Civilian ownership of AR-15-style rifles should be restricted. | — | ||
Healthcare The government should provide healthcare for everyone. | — | ||
Housing The government should spend more building affordable housing. | — | ||
Infrastructure The government should invest in expanding passenger rail, including high-speed rail. | — | ||
Infrastructure Federal funding to replace lead water pipes nationwide should be expanded. | — | ||
Judicial Reform The number of Supreme Court justices should be increased above nine. | — | ||
Judicial Reform Supreme Court justices should be subject to fixed terms (e.g. 18 years) rather than life tenure. | — | ||
Judicial Reform Supreme Court justices should be bound by a binding code of ethics enforceable by Congress. | — | ||
Labor Federal labor law should make it easier for workers to form unions (PRO Act-style reforms). | — | ||
Governance & Other Voters should be required to show photo ID, with the same rule in every state. | — | ||
Governance & Other Outside political spending — from PACs and super PACs — should be limited more strictly. | — | ||
Social Security Future workers should have to wait longer to collect full Social Security. | — | ||
Taxes People making over $400,000 a year should pay higher taxes. | — | ||
Taxes Corporate taxes should be lower. | — |
SupportsOpposesNo public positionRinged = confirmed by the campaign
About this race page
Candidate roster is sourced from the FEC's active-candidate list for the 2026 cycle. Fundraising totals reflect committee filings through the last reporting period.
Alignment % compares the candidate's extracted policy positions against your quiz answers. Positions are pulled from the candidate's campaign issues page by AI; we save the source quote for each position so you can verify the extraction. Candidates without a campaign issues page show position data pending — we're working through the roster and re-checking stale extractions every 90 days.
News coverage is from the GDELT 2.0 global news feed, filtered to a curated list of national, political, and regional outlets.