Two from Pa. heading ‘Red to Blue’

Two House Democrats from the Keystone State are helping to head up the party’s campaign efforts at capturing Republican-held seats.

Congressman Patrick Murphy (D-8) and Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz (D-13) were among four co-chairs of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s “Red to Blue” program announced Monday. In addition to aiding challengers, the program also assists in open-seat races.

Congresswoman Donna Edwards (D-Md.) and Congressman Bruce Braley (D-Ia.) are also co-chairing the program.

“The DCCC is focused…

March 8, 2010 at 1:20 pm | Comments (3)

The ‘Matthews effect,’ the 13th District and the decline of the MontCo GOP

The Montgomery County GOP has endorsed Dee Adcock of Abington for Congress in the 13th Congressional District over the somewhat better-funded Damion Dachowski and several other candidates. Dachowski, who led on the first ballot, conceded the race likely leaving Adcock to face incumbent Democrat Allyson Schwartz, a heavy favorite, in the fall.

Early comments on the vote have emphasized the so-called Matthews Effect, under which anyone…

February 12, 2010 at 2:10 pm | Comments (2)

4 fun facts from the 4th quarter

About a week after fourth-quarter FEC reports hit the Web, here are some interesting items that caught our attention.

1. Spending on one’s own campaign is all the rage, and why not? Surely no one believes in a candidate as much as the candidate himself. Be they in-kind expenditures, direct donations or campaign loans, House candidates in Pennsylvania kicked more than $700,000 into their own races in late 2009, according to campaign finance data. There’s…

February 9, 2010 at 10:56 am | Comments (6)

Voting against the champs

As if the World Series bets by elected officials weren’t enough, the House last week, naturally, took up a formal resolution congratulating the New York Yankees for their win over the Philadelphia Phillies.

But not every Philly-area lawmaker was willing to give props to the Bronx Bombers.

Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz (D-13), who’s district includes northeast Philadelphia, voted against the resolution. A spokeswoman told The Hill that Schwartz is “a dedicated…

November 7, 2009 at 6:25 pm | Comments (2)

CAMPAIGN FINANCE LEFTOVERS: Dahlkemper, Murphy, Schwartz & Thompson

In the hustle and bustle of covering third quarter campaign finance reports, we missed a handful of them.

So here’s a quick rundown of the fundraising hauls reported by incumbents from both parties.

Freshman Congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper raised about $180,000, finishing the quarter with almost $544,000 in cash on hand. Her campaign still has more than $50,000 in debt, most from loans made by the candidate.

Sophomore Congressman Patrick Murphy (D-8) made…

October 18, 2009 at 1:01 am | Comments (3)

Sestak, Schwartz try to shift blame on health care

Interesting comments yesterday from Joe Sestak and Allyson Schwartz on health care. Sestak says it would be “hard” for him to vote for a bill without a public option. Schwartz complained that Republicans “have not been very constructive” about moving the debate forward.

Actually, the Republicans have been quite consistent in their position, which is that the way to control health care costs is to control health care costs, rather than…

August 19, 2009 at 11:39 am | Comments (10)

Schwartz: Republicans ‘have not been very constructive’

Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz (D-13) on Tuesday reiterated her support for a public option for health care, but said that Republicans have sought to block any efforts at reform.

“We have always wanted this and would love to see it be a bipartisan bill,” Schwartz said on MSNBC. “[Republicans are] looking for every way to right really doing what we want to do in this country.”

She insisted that when all is said and done, “there…

August 18, 2009 at 11:15 am | Comments (9)

Smug Democrats sing their own praises—is Pennsylvania listening?

Well I seem to provoked more comments than usual with my suggestion that things ARE looking up for the GOP in the 2010 Congressional races. One said Carney and Altmire were “safe” and the Democrats would pick up both the 6th District and the 15th District. Another said: “Keep dreaming Michael. 2010 looks even better for Democrats on paper than 2008 did.”

More sympathetic commenters suggested that Steven Welch would be a strong…

August 8, 2009 at 9:00 am | Comments (4)

Dachowski aims to give Schwartz a run for her money

I have some idea what it’s like to run a long-shot race against a well-funded incumbent, so when I met Damian Dachowski, who has filed as a Republican candidate against Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz (D-13), I wasn’t sure what to expect. By and large, I was favorably impressed.

Dachowski, a dentist and a previous candidate for county coroner, struck me as personable—one might even say charming—and very much aware of the challenges he…

July 22, 2009 at 7:00 am | Comments (2)

THE RUMOR MILL: Fire alarms, Schwartz for Governor and McCaffery for Congress?

An occasional series of articles exploring political gossip in the air, whether there’s truth to it or not.

PHILADELPHIA—Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz (D-13) was at City Hall here today for a press conference on healthcare reform efforts. I made my way up the Mayor’s Reception Room in the hopes of talking to her. Ever since I included her in my list of Democrats who could shake up the Governor’s race, I’ve heard from southeastern…

July 20, 2009 at 3:18 pm | Comments (10)