Dan Meuser and Chris Hackett have spent a combined $1.5 million of their own money challenging each other for the Republican nomination in the 10th Congressional District in Pennsylvania's April 22 primary election.

The two wealthy Luzerne County businessmen pledged early on to match contributions to their campaigns and both have exceeded it.

"We were committed to do whatever necessary to get our message out," said Meuser's campaign manager, Eric Wallace.

Meuser, 44, Harvey's Lake, the president of Pride Mobility Products, which sells motorized scooters and wheelchairs, contributed $929,750 of his own money to the campaign that as of Friday had raised $1.47 million, according to documents filed with the Federal Election Commission.

Along with his own personal contributions, Meuser received $519,398 from individual contributors and $22,500 from political action committees (PACs), or special-interest groups.

As of Friday, Meuser had spent $1,401,769.

"He outspent us 2-1 this quarter," said Hackett's deputy campaign manger, Mark Harris.

Hackett, 45, of Shavertown, who owns and operates several business, including a staffing agency in Selinsgrove, contributed $590,000 to his campaign.

Along with his own contributions, Hackett received $335,502 in individual contributions and $3,000 from PACs.

He has spent $756,562 as of Friday, according to documents on the FEC Web site.

According to Roll Call, an online newspaper covering Capitol Hill, the group Club for Growth that paid for a political ad against Meuser "bundled" $77,500 in contributions to Hackett. Bundling is a way for PACs that have already donated the maximum by law to provide even more money to candidates by pooling individual contributions.

Responding to Club for Growth's support of Hackett, Wallace said: "Dan will be an independent voice in Washington. He's not relying on special-interest groups."

"Let's by clear, both Chris Hackett and Dan Meuser sought the support of the Club for Growth, which is the nation's leading advocate for lower taxes and less wasteful Washington spending," Harris said. "The group looked at Hackett's strong conservative credentials, and looked at Meuser's support for the Washington pork spending system and his long history of donations to liberal Democrats like Hillary Clinton, and they decided that Hackett was clearly the better choice for taxpayers."

Harris agreed the candidates are equally matched when it comes to finances and, though Meuser has outspent Hackett, he doesn't expect it will be the deciding factor in the primary.

"Money's not helping (Meuser) win," Harris said. "We're confident Chris can win."