There are four Democrats running in the 148th District primary. Three are running independent campaigns. The fourth appears to have been absorbed into Montgomery County’s Democratic institutional network — the same interconnected system of PACs, law firms, party officials, consultants, and political donors that has shaped county politics for years.
Campaign finance reports filed with the Pennsylvania Department of State show many of the same political funding sources tied to Montgomery County Democratic leadership now backing Megan Griffin-Shelley’s campaign.
The Cherub Group / Committee for Good Government Pipeline
One branch of the network runs through the Committee for Good Government, a PAC funded by the Cherub Group LLC, which itself is entirely funded by Gilmour Associates, an engineering firm with business ties to municipalities in Montgomery and Bucks counties.
Over the years, money from that chain has flowed to:
- Montgomery County Democratic Committee (MCDC)
- Jason Salus
- Sean Kilkenny
- Steve Santarsiero
- Matt Bradford
- Ben Sanchez
And now, Griffin-Shelley.
The Committee for Good Government contributed $2,500 to Griffin-Shelley’s campaign in December 2025.
The Clarke Firm Network
Another branch runs through Michael Clarke and the CGBAG Leadership PAC tied to Clarke Gallagher Barbiero Amuso & Glassman Law in Fort Washington.
The firm’s website lists several sitting Democratic legislators as “Of Counsel,” including:
- Maria Collett
- Steve Santarsiero
- Matt Bradford
- Ben Sanchez
Each is both politically connected and financially linked to the same ecosystem now supporting Griffin-Shelley.
Maria Collett’s committee contributed $5,000 to Griffin-Shelley in May 2026. Ben Sanchez contributed a combined $3,500 across her Whitemarsh Township and state house campaigns.
CGBAG Leadership PAC also contributed $1,000 directly to Griffin-Shelley’s campaign.
The Party Infrastructure
MCDC Chair, Jason Salus, personally contributed to Griffin-Shelley’s earlier Whitemarsh Supervisor campaign. Montgomery County Sheriff Sean Kilkenny’s campaign committee contributed to Griffin-Shelley’s Supervisor campaign, and his wife, Betsy Kilkenny, contributed $1,000 personally to her 148th District campaign in December 2025.
MCDC Chair Jason Salus and Sheriff Sean Kilkenny are themselves recipients of the Committee for Good Government’s largesse — Salus has received at least $9,500 from the PAC since 2018, Kilkenny at least $12,500 over the same period. Both have now contributed to Griffin-Shelley’s campaigns.
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The Endorsement That Wasn’t
What makes the situation notable is that MCDC never officially endorsed anyone in the race.
At the endorsement meeting:
- Griffin-Shelley received 33 votes on the first ballot
- Jason Landau Goodman received 33
- Andrea Deutsch received 6
On the second ballot, Griffin-Shelley increased to 36 votes, but MCDC rules require 60% support for an endorsement. She did not reach the threshold. No endorsement was issued.
Yet several of the network’s key figures — including legislators affiliated with the Clarke firm and party officials connected to the Cherub Group chain — publicly endorsed Griffin-Shelley anyway, while institutional money continued to flow to her campaign as though the vote had gone the other way.
The network behaved as though an endorsement had occurred even when the formal process failed to produce one.
Megan Has It All Rationalized
There is one more detail worth noting. When confronted at a candidate forum by one of her primary opponents about accepting money from an opaque, single-donor PAC, Griffin-Shelley did not dispute the characterization. She explained that it was acceptable because Governor Josh Shapiro accepts contributions from the same fund.
It was, perhaps, the most revealing moment of her campaign. She wasn’t defending the money. She was defending her right to take it — on the grounds that the most powerful Democrat in Pennsylvania takes it too. Welcome to the club.
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