This is pretty surprising and very telling of the hard work Welch has put into this campaign. 40% is a huge number for a guy who no one knew less than a year ago against a sitting Congressman. Personally, I am very surprised that the 40% is from committeepeople — the folks who make the party run and most inclined to not rock the establishment boat. It says alot about their discomfort with Congressman Gerlach’s Hamlet act. It may also say alot about the hard work Welch has put into the campaign.

If I were Ms. Walter, I’d probably be thinking that my boss had his work cut out for him as nearly 40% of those folks who should make up his campaign apparatus do not believe he should make it out of the primary.

With 40% of the plugged-in politicos voting for Welch, there is reason to believe that his campaign has momentum and can build upon his support.

Hey ChesCo Tom,

FYI, it’s Mr. Walter, not Ms.

It’s one of those names, though. Understandable.

Dan Hirschhorn

here’s the most important line of that story:

“Democrats are salivating at the possibility that Gerlach could face a well-funded primary in a district they are eager to capture in November.”

My sincere apologies to MR. Walter. I meant no disrespect.

Thanks for the heads up Dan. I should have been more careful.

Welch lost the vote by 20 points. Just an observation. Whether a 20 point loss is a lot or a little is open to interpretation.

I believe the Downingtown region is 30 committee people so 12 votes to Jim’s 18 is fairly impressive. Especially since this area is in the heart of Jim’s local connections.

I like Jim and I believe I will vote for him but I commend these committee people for keeping an open mind. I like Mr. Welch and I planned on voting for him before Jim entered the race. I plan to still do my homework before the primary.

are these angry schroder people?

I wonder if Schroder’s people backed Welch. That would be news!

I wonder of Schroder will endorse Welch?

this is VERY interesting news. I am very glad to hear this and I hope Welch continues to fight for the real Republicans of the 6th congressional district of PA.

Wow, I can’t believe Schroder’s out. The 40% is pretty amazing, and reading Schroder’s farewell message (http://www.facebook.com/notes/curt-schroder/thank-you-for-your-support/251480930167) you can see why people, even committee members, would be angry. Gerlach told everyone he wasn’t going to run again. People had gotten used to that idea and made decisions based upon it. And perhaps more importantly, I think at this point people really do want a real change.

I can only hope the 40% will compel Welch to stay in. And it would be cool if Schroder endorsed Welch as well. A spirited primary would not only be exciting, but if it stays positive, a welcomed discussion of local issues that may actually help Republicans in the general. We certainly need new ideas, and an incumbent running for his 5th term probably isn’t going to deliver any real discussion of them (within the party) without prompting.

First of all, Gerlach does not have to be prompted and Welch is a democrat

karen, grow up! Were you proud of the Republican party in 2006. Did they stand for anything except for big deficits and corruption back then. If my choices were Weldon and an Admiral in the military who said even though he was a Democrat, he stood for fiscal responsibility, I would vote for him! Unfortunately he lied but the voters in the 7th had to believe him over the corrupt Weldon. In ‘06, I could relate better to a blue dog Democrat than the Republican agenda that pushed their religious agenda instead of a fiscal conservative one. Most importantly, I believe the average voter can relate to someone who votes with some thought rather than just pulling some party lever!

ODE: so, in other words, jim gerlach?

It is telling that ChesCo Republican Establishment Hack Skip Brion could not wire the straw vote. This demonstrates that anti-incumbent, anti-Establishment Welch has grassroots strength. The Tea Parties are growing for a reason. Jim Gerlach has not reached out to Tea Party voter nor to the disaffected Curt Schroder voter. Curt Schroder is a decent man and the party humiliated him when it could have supported him.

As to Sestak contribution and vote, we all make mistakes. Steve Welch seems to have learned from his. And the GW Republicans set the stage for the Obama Demcrats who have enhanced and enlarged the GW Bush spending.

Steve Welch is phone banking for Scott Brown and Jim Gerlach is relying on the party and, in this environment, this may not be best strategy.

The Ds are losing on issues. Steve Welch is solid and an instinctive Limited Government Free Market advocate. Jim Gerlach lacks credibility on the Debt Deficit and Spending issues because of his voting record and because he was not independent of Republican House leadership.

Steve Welch is independent of leadership and a Constitutional Republican. Free Markets for Free People and Free Minds. This is the year of anti-incumbent and anti-Establishment, not the year of the Republican team player.

Bob,
You have a convenient memory. Just like you “forgive” Sam Rohrer and Curt Schroder’s pay raise and pension hike votes, you are also willing to forgive Welch’s support for a self-described liberal in Joe Sestak, and conveniently becoming a Republican right before running for office.

Any one you deemed not a worthy Republican you would crucify them with these tidbits. To me, you talk a lot about principles but rarely stand by your own.

That is the problem with all you who try to go back to the only issue you have with Welch. Sestak was not a “self-described” liberal before his election in ‘06. As Welch has explained, the switch on his voter’s card was out of anger due to what the Republican party was doing back then. It does not mean his core beliefs changed.

Go listen to this guy and try to meet him. I promise you, you will be impressed. It is sad that so many of the people on these blogs posts attacks without ever knowing the candidate they are attacking. Please, do your homework.

I like Jim. If it was between him and Curt, I would support Jim in a heartbeat. The problem is Jim does not seem passionate to me and he was part of the problem in the early 2000’s. I want my representive to stand up to either party and make tough decisions. We need new leadership across the board and it starts in 2010.

If Schroder were to endorse anyone in this race it would be Sellers. To me Welch is just a slick new Gerlach and I’ve had enough of that.

[...] Gerlach beats Steven Welch (R) in Chester County straw poll. [...]

FWIW, Curt Schroder is not going to be endorsing Steve Welch.

And Welch’s registration, donations, residency, move from moderate to conservative, or race-switching are not, independently, killer issues. In the aggregate, though, they paint a picture of indecision, credulity, and impetuousness.

I am surprised, also, that Mr. Guzzardi is so easily convinced Steve is an outsider breath of fresh air. I thought he was when he was running in the seventh. But then, on the encouragement of a passel of insiders, he switched races in the sixth to clear the way for Meehan, the consummate insider. Besides, the ChesCo leadership might be behind Gerlach NOW, but how did they treat him during his run for Governor? Do you think Jim will easily forget that? In short, Bob’s analysis of who is or isn’t an insider is incoherent.

Welch’s switch from the sixth to the seventh, btw, to me, fatally punctured his insider reputation. Welch’s strongest narrative, after this, was rendered impotent.

That all said, I would vote for Steve ten times before I would even consider voting for Pike or Trivedi. It is, I think, critically important to remember this as this primary moves forward. For now, though, I will cast my endorsement vote for Sellers. If I get to the point where Gerlach and Welch are my only choices, I am not entirely sure what I will do. Yet.