Rasmussen: Corbett leads by 13

Republican Tom Corbett has opened up a 13-point advantage in the race to be Pennsylvania’s next governor, according to a new poll.

The Rasmussen survey released Wednesday showed Corbett winning exactly half the vote, besting Democrat Dan Onorato 50 percent to 37 percent. Ten percent of voters are still undecided and three percent prefer another candidate.

It matches the largest lead Corbett has held recently, though most polls for weeks have shown the GOP nominee…

September 1, 2010 at 4:45 pm | Comments (12)

DSCC keeps up derivatives attack in new ad

Democrats are staying on the attack against Pat Toomey, using a new TV ad to once again blame the GOP Senate candidate for the financial crisis.

The new ad from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, embedded at bottom, comes two weeks after the party first went on the air in Pennsylvania, and just a couple days after Democratic nominee Joe Sestak started running his first ad. Toomey…

September 1, 2010 at 3:45 pm | Comments (16)

Callahan talks jobs

Bethlehem mayor and Democratic congressional hopeful John Callahan rolled out his jobs agenda this week, a five-point plan that tracks closely with ideas circulated by some of the moderates in his party.

Callahan’s jobs plan, unveiled at a news conference in Bethlehem and during an interview with pa2010.com, centers on eliminating tax incentives for companies to outsource jobs overseas; enacting small business tax cuts; increasing financial aid for higher education; cutting “wasteful” spending; and streamlining…

September 1, 2010 at 3:35 pm | Comments (0)

Lentz gave to Santorum in 2000

For almost a year, Democrat Bryan Lentz and his supporters have worked to equate his Republican opponent with former Senator Rick Santorum, the conservative who got washed out of office by the Democratic wave in 2006. Pat Meehan, Lentz’s rival in the 7th Congressional District, was a campaign manager for Santorum, and counts the former senator as a close supporter.

But Lentz, a two-term state Representative, was briefly a Santorum supporter himself—at least financially.

Lentz…

September 1, 2010 at 3:33 pm | Comments (8)

FACT CHECK: Two fibs that GOPers just can’t stop telling

The claims are made so often, and so casually, that they’ve seemingly become part of Republican political DNA this year: the economic stimulus package didn’t create jobs, and taxes have gone up under Democrats.

In recent months, one or both claims have been made by, among other Pennsylvania candidates or their respective campaigns, Pat Toomey, Jim Gerlach, Pat Meehan, Mike Fitzpatrick and Charlie Dent.

Both claims are also false.

More than a year-and-a-half after the…

September 1, 2010 at 3:30 pm | Comments (15)

From the Blogs

Year of the Democrat

by Abe Amoros

When I graduated high school in 1985, I went to the movies that summer to see “Year of the Dragon,” which starred Mickey Rourke and dealt with organized crime in Chinatown. One of my favorite scenes is when Rourke’s character, Captain Stanley White, lines up his weary police force to scold: “You look like the Chicago Cubs. Like you already lost.”

With all deference and respect to my friends who happen to be Cubs fans,…

September 1, 2010 at 11:50 am | Comments (7)

Kaine stumping for Trivedi

The top man in the Democratic Party is coming to Pennsylvania to pitch in for congressional hopeful Manan Trivedi.

Democratic National Committee chairman Tim Kaine will be in Philadelphia Thursday, where he will headline a fundraiser for the 6th District candidate before he joins a meeting of local Asian-American leaders. For Kaine, it’s part of a tour he’s doing to help Asian-American and Indian-American candidates. Kaine will also be joined by Congressman Mike Honda (D-Calif.),…

September 1, 2010 at 9:12 am | Comments (7)

Marino wants more debates

Only one debate is planned between the candidates in the 10th Congressional District this year. And that’s got Republican Tom Marino pretty peeved.

Marino, a former U.S. Attorney, made his strongest plea for more debates this week, saying that Congressman Chris Carney (D-10) is trying to “hide his record from the people” of the northeast Pennsylvania district.

“Maybe he is afraid to defend the fact that he toes the liberal line and supports the reckless…

September 1, 2010 at 7:58 am | Comments (3)

From the Blogs

LEFTOVERS: Another poll, fact-checking Crossroads, NRCC on Kelly

by Dan Hirschhorn

While we were reading through the details of Rasmussen’s latest Senate poll Tuesday, another survey slipped by us.

The good folks at Reuters and the research shop Ipsos got together and also polled the race. Their survey found Republican Pat Toomey leading Democrat Joe Sestak by 10 points, 47 percent to 37 percent. That’s a lead four points larger than Rasmussen showed. Toomey’s edge is smaller among…

August 31, 2010 at 5:28 pm | Comments (5)

Rasmussen: Toomey up by 6

The Senate race in Pennsylvania has narrowed somewhat, but Republican nominee Pat Toomey still holds a six-point lead over Democrat Joe Sestak, according to a new poll.

The Rasmussen survey released Tuesday found Toomey garnering 45 percent of the vote, compared to 39 percent for Sestak. Eleven percent of voters are still undecided and five percent prefer another candidate, according to the poll.

Much of the public polling over the last few months has shown…

August 31, 2010 at 1:49 pm | Comments (5)