From left, Ce-Ce Gerlach, Robert Smith Jr. and Ana Tiburcio \/ Gerlach and Tiburcio photos by Donna Fisher, Smith photo contributed<\/p>\n
The hard-fought battle for the 22nd District House seat, which opened when Democrat Josh Siegel became Lehigh County executive, tallied more than $200,000 in cash and in-kind spending as of June 8.<\/p>\n
In February, Democrat Ana Tiburcio, then an Allentown School Board member, defeated Republican Robert Smith Jr., a former ASD board member, in a special election to serve the remainder of Siegel\u2019s term.<\/p>\n
On May 19, Allentown City Council member Ce-Ce Gerlach bested incumbent Tiburcio. Gerlach will face Smith, who was unopposed in the Republican primary, on Nov. 3 for a full two-year term. Tiburcio\u2019s term expires Nov. 30.<\/p>\n
The heavily Democratic 22nd district covers East Allentown, parts of Center City and three wards in Salisbury Township.<\/p>\n
See campaign finances in Lehigh Valley state House races<\/a><\/p>\n The race between Gerlach and Tiburcio came down to a monetary tussle between the progressive group Working Families and the state Democrats.<\/p>\n Campaign expense reports filed with the state show Ce-Ce for PA<\/a> spent $46,454 and received more than $38,005 worth of in-kind contributions between March 31 and June 8.<\/p>\n Most of the in-kind help \u2013 $34,568 \u2013 came from the Working Families National PAC for video production, supplies, canvassing and other services. The progressive group also gave Ce-Ce for PA a $2,500 cash donation.<\/p>\n Working Families\u2019 support for Gerlach represents one of the largest expenditures for a Lehigh Valley candidate, according to the group.<\/p>\n Gerlach\u2019s committee incurred $15,723 in debt to Community Labor Administrative Services for texting, staffing and other services. The group provides administrative services to candidates supported by Working Families.<\/p>\n Gerlach, who announced plans to run in the 22nd last fall, carried over $17,769 in cash that she raised in 2025. She added $41,591 between March 31 and June 8, according to campaign finance reports. She had $12,906 in cash left over.<\/p>\n Cash donations included $3,000 from the political committee for Siegel, who was an ally of Gerlach\u2019s when he served on Allentown City Council. His committee also donated $1,700 worth of in-kind help for mailers.<\/p>\n Gerlach\u2019s committee also received $2,500 each from Lehigh Valley Stand Up, IBEW 375 and Yamelisa Taveras of Allentown. Friends of Ce Ce Gerlach, another one of her committees, gave $1,090 while Gerlach herself contributed $1,000.<\/p>\n