Lentz gave $2K to felled opponent; has $600K on hand

There’s nothing like some campaign cash to cheer you up after your campaign fizzles.

Democrat Bryan Lentz raised about $40,000 last month, finishing the pre-primary reporting period with $600,000 in cash on hand, according to campaign finance data. The 7th District hopeful continues to face a financial disadvantage against Republican opponent Pat Meehan, whose campaign reported having almost $900,000 in the bank at the close of the…

May 7, 2010 at 3:09 pm | Comments (9)

Judge rules Touey can’t be on ballot, leaving Lentz alone in 7th District

Let the general election begin in the 7th Congressional District.

A state judge ruled Thursday that Democrat E. Teresa Touey had only 992 valid signatures on her nominating petitions, less than the 1,000 required. Commonwealth Court Judge P. Kevin Brobson’s decision kept Touey off the May primary ballot, leaving state Representative Bryan Lentz (D-Delaware) as the only Democrat in the race. He will face former U.S. Attorney Pat Meehan in November, and the two have…

April 16, 2010 at 3:06 pm | Comments (14)

Conner drops out of 7th District primary

Environmental lawyer Gail Conner has withdrawn from the Democratic primary in the 7th Congressional District, leaving just one candidate between front-runner Bryan Lentz and the party’s nomination.

When Conner entered the race in November, some party insiders thought her longstanding ties to area churches could make her a formidable candidate. But she never raised any significant amount of money, nor did she build much of a campaign on the ground. Her spot on the ballot…

April 7, 2010 at 12:44 pm | Comments (6)

AFL-CIO backs Pike, others in contested House primaries

The statewide AFL-CIO has made its picks for Congress.

The umbrella labor organization endorsed five candidates in Democratic primaries when its Executive Council met Tuesday. Perhaps most notable was the AFL-CIO’s backing for 6th District hopeful Doug Pike, who is locked in the party’s most competitive House nominating contest against Manan Trivedi. Pike already enjoyed deeper labor support than Trivedi, and despite Trivedi’s recent surge of local party support, the AFL-CIO endorsement effectively puts the…

March 30, 2010 at 2:07 pm | Comments (3)

Touey ‘disgusted’ by Lentz ballot challenge

Democrat E. Teresa Touey wants 7th District primary opponent Bryan Lentz to withdraw the ballot challenge against her, saying the signatures she gathered to get on the ballot are valid and that voters are “angry at both parties for these kinds of tactics.”

“This is the kind of behavior that voters do not want,” Touey said in an interview Monday morning.

After a few days of silence following the challenge filed by supporters of Lentz,…

March 22, 2010 at 9:09 am | Comments (6)

BALLOT CHALLENGE UPDATE: Hearings scheduled, one case closed

While we continue to look into some of the more high-profile ballot challenges, here are some updates.

A petition to keep Republican Jean Craige Pepper of the primary ballot for Lieutenant Governor has already been set aside. We’re still trying to figure out exactly why, but from a quick review of court documents, it looks like the complaint was simply withdrawn. That means a whopping nine Republicans will indeed vie for GOP votes for Lt.…

March 19, 2010 at 6:08 pm | Comments (5)

Ballot challenge, spearheaded by Lentz, alleges widespread fraud in Meehan’s petitions

The nominating petitions that Republican Pat Meehan’s congressional campaign submitted to get on the May primary ballot are so rife with invalid signatures and outright fraud as to warrant keeping the former U.S. Attorney off the ballot, according to a complaint filed in Commonwealth Court.

The 15-page complaint, filed by Republican supporters of Meehan’s likely Democratic opponent Bryan Lentz, details a litany of problems with the more than 3,600 signatures collected by Meehan’s campaign, as…

March 17, 2010 at 11:11 pm | Comments (21)

DelCo Dems back Lentz

The Delaware County Democratic Committee endorsed state Representative Bryan Lentz for Congress in the 7th District Tuesday night, further solidifying Lentz’s status as the party’s overwhelming front-runner three months before the primary.

The Lentz campaign said a roll-vote wasn’t needed, with overwhelming support coming in the form of a standing voice vote. Environmental lawyer Gail Conner and political consultant E. Teresa Touey are both running, but neither have been able to gain much traction in…

February 17, 2010 at 3:00 pm | Comments (8)

Less than $500 for Touey

State Representative Bryan Lentz (D-Delaware) finished 2009 with more than 140 times the campaign cash enjoyed by both of his primary opponents combined.

Newly-filed campaign finance data shows that political consultant E. Teresa Touey raised about $6,000 for her 7th District congressional race. But she spent almost all of it, and had only $437 on hand at the end of the year. Environmental lawyer Gail Conner, meanwhile, finished the year with…

February 2, 2010 at 1:09 pm | Comments (17)

Candidates court DelCo Dems

MEDIA—Candidates for Governor, Senate and Congress took turns addressing Delaware County Democrats here Sunday night, appearing in a crowded forum that brought Congressman Joe Sestak (D-7) back to his home turf.

A day after he and Senator Arlen Specter both made their cases to liberal activists in Harrisburg, Sestak was back in his district talking up his anti-establishment message.

“We’re not Rendell-ites or Biden-ites,” Sestak said, referring to Specter’s support from the governor and the…

February 1, 2010 at 2:25 pm | Comments (3)