Pennsylvania: Tom Smith Launches Senate Campaign

Politics PA: 
Coal industry veteran and former Tea Party leader Tom Smith officially announced his U.S. Senate candidacy Tuesday morning in a fly-around tour of the state.
“I am humbled and encouraged by the support I have received in my campaign, from Republicans … and also from Democrats and Independents who believe it may be time for Mr. Smith to go to Washington.”
Harrisburg was Smith’s second stop on a two-day announcement tour across the state. He spoke in the headquarters of Hydroworx, a company that manufactures specialty underwater treadmills for use in rehabilitation.

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Pennsylvania May Do Away With Winner-Takes-All in Electoral College

Pileggi says he wants to change that “winner-take-all system,” and guide the system used in Maine and Nebraska through Pennsylvania’s Legislature this fall, before the 2012 presidential votes are cast. Republicans in both chambers say the bill has a strong chance of moving fast enough to be approved for next year.

“The system we have now, is a winner-take-all system, the system I am proposing would more precisely conform the electoral college to the popular vote and it would make the presidential election more relevant across the state, give voters more of a sense that they are active participants in the presidential election.”

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Associated Press Claims 2012 Could be Worse for Democrats Than 2010

Last week's election was bad for Democrats. The next one could be worse.
Senate Democrats running in 2012 will be trying to hold their jobs in states where Republicans just scored major congressional and gubernatorial victories — Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, New Mexico and Virginia.
The Democrats' problems don't end with senators.

Associated Press

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Pennsylvania: Toomey Leads Sestak by 4 pts

Image via Wikipedia PA Survey of 750 Likely Voters
October 28, 2010  

Election 2010: Pennsylvania Senate
Pat Toomey (R)	50%
Joe Sestak (D)	46%
Some Other Candidate	1%
Not sure Rasmussen Reports	3%

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Pennsylvania: Toomey Regains the Momentum

The Morning Call/Muhlenberg College daily tracking poll of the race found Toomey leading Democratic Rep. Joe Sestak 47-42 percent, with 11 percent undecided.
In recent weeks, Sestak made up ground on Toomey in the closely-watched contest, but Monday's poll suggests that Toomey could be heading off that momentum. Three polls last week showed the Democrat and the Republican running in virtually a dead heat after Toomey had led the race for weeks. 

The Hill

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Democrat 'Polling Agency' Caught Greatly Oversampling Liberals to Get Desired Poll Results

In 2004, the partisan breakdown in Pennsylvania was 41% Democrat, 39% Republican, 20% independent.

In 2006, it was 43% Democrat, 38% Republican, 19% independent. 

In 2008, it was 44% Democrat, 37% Republican, 18% independent. 

And what does PPP predict the partisan makeup of the electorate will be in 2010? 48% Democrat (!), 41% Republican, 11% independent. Color me skeptical that Pennsylvania Democrats will hold a 48% to 41% edge over Republicans in 2010.

The Weekly Standard

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Pennsylvania: GOP Governor of Puerto Rico Endorses Toomey

Pat Toomey, enjoying a six to nine point advantage according to nearly every poll, picked up an endorsement today from Puerto Rican Gov. Luis Fortuno. Fortuno, only the second Republican governor of the island in six decades, has forged a reputation as a no-nonsense fiscal reformer since taking office last year.

Gov. Fortuno, speaking at a restaurant in Philadelphia, praised Toomey’s vision for Pennsylvania. A “message of lower taxes, fiscal responsibility, and reducing the size of government is resonating with voters across the state,” said Fortuno.

National Review

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Pennsylvania: Now Allyson Schwartz is in Trouble

Image via Wikipedia

Dee Adcock has spent the better part of the past few months playing the part of his cycle’s humble Republican challenger to Democrat incumbent Allyson Schwartz in Pennsylvania’s 13th district. The district, north of Philadelphia in Montgomery County, has been solid blue for a decade, and the Cook Partisan Voting Index has the territory as D +7.

Adcock’s campaign, rightly or wrongly, has not attracted the kind of enthusiasm that similar challenges by the likes of Mike Kelly in PA-3, Pat Meehan in PA-7, or Lou Barletta in PA-11 have received. But as of last week, that could be changing. Adcock’s campaign released a poll conducted in early September that suggests the race could not just be competitive, but may actually be a dead heat.

National Review

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Wisconsin, Colorado, Pennsylvania & Kentucky Polls Look Good for GOP

Over the last 24 hours, a series of polls for Senate races have been released from Marist and Rasmussen, and all of them look good for the GOP.  In three states which would provide key pickups for Republicans, Colorado, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, their candidates have taken leads and have picked up some momentum heading into the last month of the campaign.  In all three states, the losses will be a profound statement of Democratic erosion.

Hot Air

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Pennsylvania: Kelly Leads Dahlkemper

Mike Kelly                   44
Kathy Dahlkemper       38

Real Clear Politics

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Pennsylvania: Corbett Leads Onorato by 10

Image via Wikipedia

Survey of 750 Likely Voters in Pennsylvania
July 14, 2010  

Election 2010: Pennsylvania Governor
Tom Corbett (R)	48%
Dan Onorato (D)	38%
Some other candidate	5%
Not sure	10%

Source: Rasmussen Reports

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Pennsylvania: Both Parties Gunning for Murtha's Seat

Both parties are pouring in money and dispatching heavy hitters in advance of a May 18 special election in western Pennsylvania, a race that could provide important signals about the outcome of the November elections.

Democrat Mark Critz, a longtime aide to the late Rep. John Murtha, is facing off against Republican businessman Tim Burns as they vie to succeed Mr. Murtha. The winning party will be able to claim a morale-boosting victory as the campaign season heats up.

Wall Street Journal

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Pennsylvania: Lancaster Democrat Switches Parties

One of only six Democrats holding office in Lancaster or a county-wide office in Fairfield County has decided to switch parties.Lancaster City Treasurer Robert Wolfinger Jr. has decided to switch to the Republican Party.

Lancaster Eagle-Gazette

Why Pennsylvania Offers a lot of Opportunities for Republicans in 2010

"Pennsylvania has a history of swinging back and forth from Republican to Democrat, Democrat to Republican in statewide races," said Robb Austin, a Pennsylvania political consultant and former state representative.
This has been true in the Senate -- Democrat Harris Wofford won a special election to replace John Heinz in 1991, and was then defeated by conservative Republican Rick Santorum, who was knocked out four years ago by Democrat Robert Casey Jr. -- as well as in gubernatorial elections...

Real Clear Politics

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Pennsylvania: Party Switch Could Cost Specter Job

Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter made huge headlines when he switched parties for the second time last spring. The former Republican-turned-Democrat is campaigning for re-election this fall, but he's facing fierce competition from both sides.

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Pennsylvania: Toomey Leads Specter by 9

Survey of 1,000 Likely Voters
March 15, 2010

Election 2010: Pennsylvania Senate
Pat Toomey (R)	49%
Arlen Specter (D)	40%
Some Other Candidate	5%
Not sure	7%

Election 2010: Pennsylvania Senate
Pat Toomey (R)	42%
Joe Sestak (D)	37%
Some Other Candidate	7%
Not sure	15%

Rasmussen Reports

 

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Pennsylvania: Murtha's Widow Won't Run

The race among Democrats to fill Pennsylvania's Rep. John Murtha's seat often seems like a competition over who would most resemble the 18-term Johnstown powerbroker once in office.
On Monday, the person who would most embody that sentiment, his widow, Joyce, said she is not going to run for the seat -- opening the Democratic field for more than a half-dozen candidates. The Murtha for Congress Committee said in a statement that Mrs. Murtha "feels that it is too soon after his death to be on the campaign trail."

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

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Pennsylvania: Gerlach Ends Governor's Run; May Seek Reelection to Congress

Gerlach said in a statement that he was dropping out of the race for governor because he could not raise enough money for a bid. But when pressed for an answer about whether the Congressman might run for his seat again, Gerlach spokesman Kori Walter said four-term House Member was not ruling anything out at this point. 

Congressional Quarterly

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Pennsylvania: Barletta, Kanjorski Rematch?

Lou Barletta. Image via Wikipedia

The leading contender for the Republican nomination is Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta, who entered the race Dec. 9 to pursue a rematch of the 2008 race that Kanjorski won by just 3 percentage points. The incumbent ran well behind Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama , who won by 15 points in the typically Democratic-leaning northeastern Pennsylvania district that includes Scranton and Wilkes-Barre.

Congressional Quarterly

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Politically Correct Slogans Riddle School Booklet

Monday was the first day of the new school year, and it proved to be more of a learning experience for me than it was for my fifth-grader. He brought home a pile of papers last week that included the 12-page school district booklet, "Elementary Students: Behaving Positively at School."

I opened it, wanting to make sure I was familiar with the guidelines regarding bullying, drugs, classroom disruptions and other legitimate school concerns. Instead, I was greeted by a full page of mind-numbing, politically correct mumbo-jumbo under the headline, "The Challenge of Excellence -- Be Positive!" ... >

Las Vegas Review Journal