Politico reports that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is reserving airtime in both the 7th and 15th Districts. In the 7th, Democrat Bryan Lentz and Republican Pat Meehan are vying for the seat left open by incumbent Joe Sestak. In the 15th, White House recruit John Callahan is mounting a challenge to incumbent Republican Charlie Dent.

In the first slate of ad buy reservations disclosed last week, the DCCC looked to shore up vulnerable incumbents. In Pennsylvania, that meant promising airtime for Kathy Dahlkemper in the 3rd District, Chris Carney in the 10th District, Paul Kanjorski in the 11th District and Mark Critz in the 12th District.

The DCCC holds a significant financial advantage over its GOP counterpart, the benefit of which is quickly becoming clear. Of the 10 House races considered competitive by pa2010.com, the DCCC has already signaled it will make ad buys in six districts.

The 7th District is currently No. 1 on the pa2010.com Congressional Power Rankings, while the 15th District is currently No. 5.

“I think the president should be accessible, should answer questions that aren’t pre-screened, but I think there should be a little bit of dignity to the presidency,” Rendell said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

We’re assuming Rendell’s rule doesn’t apply to governors, considering that the former Philadelphia mayor is a longtime fixture on “Eagles Postgame Live.” Rendell was in favor of Obama going on “Morning Joe.” Check out a video clip of his remarks at bottom.

Meanwhile, Congressman Jim Gerlach (R-6) is giving big bucks to the National Republican Congressional Committee. Gerlach has given $100,000 so far this cycle, the latest cash coming in the form of a $44,000 contribution made during an NRCC fundraiser on Tuesday. Politico first reported news of the contribution, which took us by surprise considering that Gerlach represents a Democratic-leaning district in the Philly suburbs and is facing another stiff challenge, this time from Reading doctor Manan Trivedi. We were doubly surprised in light of Gerlach’s relatively modest cash-on-hand advantage.

Mark Campbell, Gerlach’s longtime political adviser, told us the same thing he told Politico: that the contribution was made partly because an internal campaign poll found Gerlach holding a big lead over Trivedi, 54 percent to 29 percent. “We are never overconfident, and we always run like we are 10 points down,” he said. “But it’s safe to say Jim Gerlach’s views represent the values of the taxpayers of the 6th District.”

We don’t necessarily doubt the results of the poll—Trivedi has done barely an iota of paid media. But it’s worth noting that just earlier this week, friend-of-the-site Alex Isenstadt reported that Gerlach is among a number of “endangered incumbents” being boosted in fundraising call sessions by party leaders. And Gerlach could effectively get that money back if the NRCC ends up doing independent ad buys on his behalf. Trivedi spokeswoman Lindsay Fritchman pointed this out in pushing her own narrative. “This transfer pretty much demonstrates how much trouble [Gerlach] is in,” she told Politico. “He’s handing them the money because he knows that’s the only way he can beat Manan.”

The race is currently No. 4 on our Congressional Power Rankings.

And speaking of House seats that are in play, the National Journal has identified two Keystone State districts as being among the 40 seats most likely to switch parties this fall. One is the open seat in the 7th District, where Democrat Bryan Lentz and Republican Pat Meehan are vying in the state’s most competitive House race. The other is the 11th District, where incumbent Democrat Paul Kanjorski is trying to fend off yet another challenge from Republican Lou Barletta.

Jim Schneller, the Tea Party candidate who is running as an independent, said this week that he has collected enough signatures to get on the ballot. Pennsylvania election law makes it very difficult to gain ballot access as an independent or third-party candidate. Schneller needs about 4,200 signatures, equal to two percent of the total votes that incumbent Congressman Joe Sestak (D-7) received in 2008. With the Aug. 2 deadline to file nominating petitions looming, Schneller says he’s gathered about 5,200 signatures.

“I’m building a lot of momentum,” Schneller told pa2010.com. “We think we’ve got a sufficient buffer to overcome any feasible challenge. The quality of our petitions is way above par.”

Whether Schneller will ultimately see his name on the general election ballot remains to be seen. Political operatives typically prefer to gather twice the number of signatures required to head off a ballot challenge, and in such a competitive race, a challenge is not unlikely. The race has already been full of petition-related conflict, with the Democratic candidate bringing ballot challenges against both his primary opponents and the sole Republican candidate.

Schneller said “we will fight” any challenge.

“We have the real McCoy,” Schneller said. “We haven’t done any kind of fudging and we’ve put together a set of about 125 petitions that show registered voters in the proper district.”

Schneller has raised about $8,000 to date, and finished June with about $7,000 in the bank, according to campaign finance data. He would seem to have little realistic chance of prevailing in November, with far less money, name recognition or political organization than both Democrat Bryan Lentz and Republican Pat Meehan. But in the state’s most competitive House race, he could play a key spoiler role, drawing conservative votes away from Meehan, who is still seen by most political insiders as the favorite.

But Schneller doesn’t see himself as a spoiler.

“There’s a great groundswell for some real change,” he said. “We know that victory is within our sights.”

Toomey said Monday that if he were in the Senate, he would vote against Elena Kagan. Writing in a Post-Gazette op-ed, Toomey said that while Sotomayor had judicial experience and “provided ample evidence of impartiality,” Kagan “offers no comparable reassurances.”

“Ms. Kagan unquestionably has a keen intellect and strong legal knowledge, and has earned the respect of many colleagues in the legal profession,” Toomey wrote. “But while we should not use ideological litmus tests to reject a Supreme Court nominee, nor should intellectual capacity be the sole qualification.”

Meanwhile, Democrat Dan Onorato is taking some exception to gubernatorial rival Tom Corbett’s constant refrain that Onorato is running a negative campaign—”attacking, attacking, attacking,” as Corbett said recently. So Onorato’s campaign on Monday sent reporters a “backgrounder” on his “positive campaign message.” In the e-mail, Onorato’s campaign noted more than two dozen tonally-positive events that Onorato has held since the May primary. The campaign puts these events in a different category from the recent slate of appearances in which he’s repeatedly bashed Corbett’s much-talked-about unemployment gaffe. “Onorato has traveled the state since the primary to reach out to Pennsylvania voters and speak about his experience and positive vision for Pennsylvania’s future,” the campaign said.

And two Democratic congressional candidates in the southeast are still staffing up ahead of November. Reading doctor Manan Trivedi’s 6th District campaign has hired a field director and a press secretary. Andy Zabel, who did field work for both of John Edwards’ presidential campaigns, is heading Trivedi’s ground game. Lindsay Fritchman, who was on Joe Sestak’s press team for the Senate primary, is the campaign’s new spokeswoman. And state Representative Bryan Lentz’s 7th District campaign has hired a new political director in Sean Coit. Until now, Coit worked for our friends over at PoliticsPA. He steps into the slot left open by Kevin McTigue, who recently became Lentz’s campaign manager.

Lentz’s 7th District campaign said Monday that the state Representative is embarking on a 10-week, 25-stop “economic listening tour” that will take the candidate to local businesses and town-hall style forums. The tour will begin Tuesday at New Way Air Bearings, a company that manufactures parts for flat-screen televisions.

The tour comes as candidates up and down the ballot are honing their messages on jobs, with the economy almost certain to be issue No. 1 in the looming elections. Lentz’s GOP opponent, former U.S. Attorney Pat Meehan, has been regularly touring local businesses for several weeks. The competitive, open-seat race is currently No. 1 on the pa2010.com Congressional Power Rankings.

“It’s companies like New Way that we should be working with to implement policies that will help them create new products and generate more good-paying jobs,” Lentz said in a statement. “The proposals that result from this tour will have a meaningful impact for all businesses across the region.”

UPDATE—In a statement, Meehan campaign manager Bryan Kendro says: “Bryan Lentz has already laid out his plan to spend more and increase the size and scope of government. This isn’t a listening tour, it’s a lecture circuit. Pat Meehan’s ideas for job creation come directly from the small businesses, entrepreneurs and health care professionals in the district who share his concern about the policies coming out of Washington. Employers Pat has met with in the district want a leader who will go to Washington and stand up to the reckless spending supported by Bryan Lentz, Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic leaders in Congress, not someone who supports a failed government-knows-best approach.”

The video juxtaposes Toomey talking about his tenure at the club with Republicans bashing it. The club has long been a thorn in the side of moderate Republicans, who often find themselves subject to primary purges funded in part by the organization. “The Club for Growth’s rigid advocacy for policies that benefit only the wealthiest few at the expense of working families is what led us into this recession,” Sestak campaign spokesman Jonathon Dworkin said in a statement. “Congressman Toomey may believe in and push for these policies, but as even his fellow Republicans point out, his approach is way out of touch.”

Check out the video at bottom.

Meanwhile, Toomey’s campaign kept up its attack on Sestak over those nefarious items known as earmarks. That’s been Toomey’s issue of the week, ever since The Inquirer called out Sestak for not exactly living up to his own rhetoric on the subject. So Toomey’s campaign sent out its own release on the subject, arguing that Sestak’s take on his own ethics policy is, effectively, “never mind.”

“If Congressman Sestak wants Pennsylvanians to trust him, he should return the $119,650 he took from earmark recipients in violation of his own promise,” Toomey campaign spokeswoman Nachama Soloveichik said in a statement. “Pennsylvanians deserve better than broken promises and empty gestures from another Washington politician.”

And a day after Democrat Bryan Lentz got to bask in the fundraising glow of Vice President Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, multiple news reports were floating estimates of the cash taken in from the joint event for Lentz’s 7th District congressional campaign and the party’s House campaign committee. Word is that the event netted close to a quarter-million bucks, with Lentz expected to see about half that. The big, one-day haul would cut Lentz’s fundraising disadvantage against Republican Pat Meehan by more than a third.

Lentz’s second-quarter campaign finance report had not yet been published online early Tuesday evening, but the latest numbers were provided by his campaign. The $230,000 he raised fell short of Meehan’s haul by more than $200,000. Lentz, a two-term state Representative, has now raised more than $1 million in his bid to fill the seat being left open by Democrat Joe Sestak.

His campaign finished June with about $786,000 in the bank, compared to $1.1 million for Meehan, a former U.S. Attorney.

Meehan, who led the money race by about $234,000 at the end of last year, now sports a $334,000 advantage. His fundraising edge has grown even as his campaign has endured some high-profile PR setbacks.

The race is currently No. 1 on the pa2010.com Congressional Power Rankings.

Meehan’s 7th District congressional campaign was set to begin airing a 60-second spot on local radio stations Thursday, including KYW and WPHT, the popular talk-radio channel. The ad, set as a circus-style announcement of Pelosi’s visit, will air for a couple days.

“The Nancy Pelosi political circus is coming to town,” the ad says. “Coming to our area to support fellow liberal Bryan Lentz.”

Pelosi and Vice President Joe Biden are headlining a fundraiser for Lentz and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee on Monday.

In one of the country’s most competitive House races, both candidates have received support from their respective party leadership. Lentz has received money from political action committees controlled by Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, while Meehan has gotten money from House Minority Whip Eric Cantor’s PAC.

The race is currently No. 1 on the pa2010.com Congressional Power Rankings.

Click here to listen to the ad.

The survey, described in a poll memo provided to pa2010.com by a Meehan campaign adviser, appeared to contain few surprises. Meehan is significantly better-known than Lentz in the Delaware County district, after years on the local political scene and a stint as district attorney. And in a district where independents can swing elections, many voters, according to the poll memo, are more likely to support someone who will oppose President Obama’s policies. Those dynamics had led many political watchers and even Democrats to see Meehan as the favorite from Day One.

“Pat Meehan is well positioned to be the next Congressman from Pennsylvania’s 7th District,” Meehan campaign pollsters Tony Fabrizio and David Lee wrote in the memo. “Voters in this district want to elect a ‘check and balance’ to President Obama.”

The full survey cross-tabs and questions were not available, making it impossible to independently assess the merits of the poll. But it nonetheless illuminated a clear strategy for the Meehan campaign: If it can successfully paint Lentz, a two-term state Representative, as a “rubber stamp” for Obama, Meehan could fare well on Election Day.

The overall survey 400 likely voters in the district, conducted almost a month ago, found Meehan enjoying almost twice the name recognition as Lentz. Meehan has a 12-point lead over Lentz among voters who say they have definitely decided, according to the poll memo, while his advantage sits at 21-points if respondents who say they will “probably” support a certain candidate are included.

Almost two-thirds of respondents have never heard of Lentz, a dynamic his campaign will surely seek to change with a late-campaign advertising push. Almost 30 percent of respondents said they never heard of Meehan.

The poll had a margin of error of 4.9 percent.

In a statement responding to the poll memo, Lentz campaign manager Vincent Rongione said: “Bryan Lentz is focused on people—not polls. Releasing skewed internal numbers is exactly the kind of political trick that voters are tired of, and sadly, it is exactly what we have come to expect from 30-year political insider Pat Meehan.”

Click here to see the poll memo.

As he staffs up considerably for the homestretch before Election Day, Democrat Bryan Lentz is getting ready to switch campaign managers.

Vincent Rongione, who has run Lentz’s 7th District congressional campaign for more than seven months, is transitioning to a general consulting role. Rongione told pa2010.com he’s making the switch because he’s moving out of Pennsylvania for personal reasons. Kevin McTigue, who was recently hired as political director, will be taking over as campaign manager, while Rongione will continue to play a role in political strategy and big-picture public relations.

The change in leadership comes at a key juncture for the campaign, with Vice President Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi set to visit Philadelphia to help Lentz, a state Representative, bolster his fundraising against Republican Pat Meehan in the state’s most competitive House race. Meehan has outpaced Lentz in the money race even as Lentz has won some news cycles with an aggressive PR style, and the Democrat now needs to win over some of the party faithful who remain bearish on his chances.

But Rongione insisted the transition would be smooth, and that no change of strategy is in the works.

“There should be no change,” he said. “Kevin is our political director, he’s transitioning to take over some of the day to day operations, and we’re full steam ahead. We’re doing everything exactly the same as we would have been doing before. The mandate here is to continue on the track that we’ve laid. We’re not changing directions or doing anything like that.”

McTigue was a field director for Bill Foster in Illinois, when Foster won the 2008 special election to replace former House Speaker Dennis Hastert. He was also a national advance staffer for Barack Obama’s campaign in 2008, and ran the Democratic Party’s coordinated campaign in Delaware County in 2006.

“Kevin was here on the ground for six weeks before it was even an idea to transition him over, so he’s very well integrated into the operation,” Rongione said. “It’s not a situation where we’re undertaking dramatic changes.”

The campaign also recently hired Bob Finkelstein to handle day-to-day press. Finkelstein, a former Bloomberg News reporter, was communications director on Brian Grady’s campaign for Philadelphia District Attorney. About five field organizers and a volunteer coordinator have also joined the campaign, which recently moved out of its tiny Swarthmore office into larger Springfield headquarters. As part of the leadership change, finance director Aubrey Montgomery and longtime Lentz field operative Michael Eagle are being elevated to deputy campaign managers, remaining in charge of the same portfolios.

Correction: This article originally misspelled the surname of Lentz’s new campaign press aide. He is Bob Finkelstein, not Finklestein.