Big money is flooding into the Philly congressional race as all three front-runners hit the airwaves

For two months, commercials for physician Ala Stanford have dominated Philadelphia’s airwaves, as a Washington, D.C.,-based political action committee has pumped more than $3 million into a congressional ad campaign for her.

But with less than two weeks until Election Day, Stanford’s top rivals are now getting some outside help of their own.

A coalition of several left-leaning super PACs is spending about $1 million combined on television ads to support State Rep. Chris Rabb, a progressive Democrat. Another super PAC funded by the deep-pocketed Philadelphia building trades unions is circulating mail to boost State Sen. Sharif Street, the former head of the state Democratic Party. Stanford, meanwhile, has benefited from a more than $3.3 million television advertising campaign over the course of nearly two months from the 314 Action Fund, a super PAC that describes itself as backing “pro-science” candidates.

It all sets up for a tightly contested final sprint to Election Day on May 19, when Philadelphia Democrats who live in the 3rd Congressional District will pick their nominee to succeed retiring U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans. The primary is likely to be decisive in the district, which is one of the bluest in the nation and stretches from Chestnut Hill to South Philly. No Republican has filed to run.

» READ MORE: Meet the 4 Democrats vying to replace Dwight Evans in Congress

There has been no public, independent polling of the race thus far, and each candidate has amassed significant endorsements, making the race a dead heat as the campaign enters its final days.

Each front-runner in the 3rd District race has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for their own campaigns to pay for things like staff, television ads, and get-out-the-vote efforts.

According to campaign finance reports filed Thursday, covering April, Rabb had the most money in the bank, with about $373,000 on hand heading into the final weeks of the campaign. He also raised the most money in the month, logging more than $200,000 in donations — more than Stanford and Street raised in April combined. The fundraising surge in recent months has allowed Rabb to carry a cash advantage into a critical final period of the race, when voters are paying more attention and could be influenced by a last-minute burst of advertising.

Street has raised the most money throughout the campaign cycle, bringing in a total of more than $1 million since he launched his campaign in July. Rabb has raised roughly $959,000 since he announced his campaign in July. Stanford has brought in about $496,000 since October, and she personally lent her campaign $250,000.

While Rabb has the most money in the bank, that is in large part because Stanford and Street both spent money to run television ads in April, while Rabb did not. According to the reports, Stanford spent $150,000 on ads and Street spent $100,000.

All told, the three candidates have spent a combined $1.8 million since the beginning of the election cycle.

Super PACs involved in the congressional race have spent more than double that.

That lopsided spending is largely because the candidates’ campaigns must follow strict limits on the size of donations they may accept.

But super PACs, also known as independent expenditure groups, can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money, so long as they do not coordinate directly with the candidate they are supporting.

That means the backing of those outside groups could prove pivotal in the final stretch before Election Day.

A handful of super PACs that tend to back progressives began airing television ads this week for Rabb.

The groups include the PAC affiliated with the Working Families Party, a labor-aligned third party that supports progressive Democrats running in primaries, and Justice Democrats PAC, a group affiliated with U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who also endorsed Rabb.

Those organizations teamed up with the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC and two other super PACs that support progressive, pro-Palestinian candidates, according to a person familiar with the plans who requested anonymity to speak candidly about strategy.

The coalition of progressive groups will spend a total of about $1 million to boost Rabb, most of which will be to run a television commercial that features a handful of Philadelphia progressives who have endorsed the state representative, including City Councilmembers Kendra Brooks and Nicolas O’Rourke. Both Brooks and O’Rourke are members of the Working Families Party, a New York-based party whose Philadelphia chapter is one of several across the country.

Drawing on key lines of attack in the race, where the candidates have bitterly debated over criticisms of Israel, the ad says Rabb “is taking on big corporations, fought for Medicare for All, [and] stood up to Trump’s war and genocide in Gaza.”

While the spending by progressive groups is significant, it pales in comparison to the millions put into the race for Stanford by 314 Action Fund, according to federal campaign finance records.

So far, 314 has aired largely positive messaging touting Stanford’s work during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the ads position her as “fighting against the Democratic machine.”

Street’s message is only on television because his campaign has spent about $100,000 to run an ad that showcases him talking about his North Philadelphia roots and experience as a state lawmaker. The super PAC supporting him, called Philly First, has not yet purchased television ads.

Rather, the group, which is led by affiliates of the politically powerful Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council, is running pro-Street radio ads and sending advertising in the mail.

One pro-Street mailer to Philadelphia voters takes aim at Stanford’s big boost from 314 Action Fund. It reads: “Philly First isn’t an out-of-state super PAC for millionaires. We’re funded by tens of thousands of hardworking Philadelphians.”

The building trades are also expected to provide a boost to Street in the form of a get-out-the-vote operation in the days leading up to the election. That ground game comes in addition to efforts from the Democratic City Committee, which endorsed Street and will deploy thousands of committeepeople on Election Day to distribute pro-Street literature and get their neighbors to the polls.

More on the 3rd Congressional District race

• Meet the Democrats vying to replace Dwight Evans in Congress

• How the Middle East and the word 'genocide' became the defining issue of the Philly congressional race

• Philly’s competitive U.S. House race narrows — but big questions loom

• Sharif Street could become Pa.’s first Muslim member of Congress. But don’t make assumptions about his politics.

• Chris Rabb is trying to be the left’s standard-bearer as he runs for Congress. Will progressives rally around him?

• Ala Stanford is banking on a healthcare message to break through crowded Philly primary for Congress

• After a staffer allegedly took $161K, Chris Rabb rebounds to lead fundraising in Philly’s congressional race

• How two Philly congressional candidates are quietly guiding super PACs in plain sight