The not-so-secret is out: Dems don’t see a primary in PA-7

There are three Democrats running for the party’s nomination in the 7th Congressional District, and one who’s still considering a run, but Thursday quietly brought confirmation of what we had long assumed: Democrats already see state Representative Bryan Lentz (D-Delaware) as their candidate.

A Politico report brings us a list of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s top-priority races. In Pennsylvania, the 6th, the 7th and the 15th are all among the party’s…

January 14, 2010 at 11:30 pm | Comments (5)

Lentz: ‘I will always put your interests ahead of the special interests’ (Video)

State Representative Bryan Lentz (D-Delaware) formally declared his candidacy for Congress in the 7th District Thursday, as the Democratic front-runner to succeed incumbent Joe Sestak said that people are “legitimately frustrated” by the federal government and promised to fight for job creation on Main Street.

At an American Legion post in Upper Darby, Lentz—who has been gearing up his campaign for a few months—reflected on his upbringing in southeastern Pennsylvania, his military service, his time…

November 12, 2009 at 1:30 pm | Comments (18)

Environmental lawyer dives into PA-7 Dem primary

An environmental lawyer who was a convention delegate for Barack Obama last year announced Tuesday morning that she would run for Congress in the 7th District, adding another name to the mix just days before the party’s front-runner formally declares his candidacy.

Gail Conner, the founder and president of an environmental consulting firm in Newtown Square, sought to to frame herself as something of a political outsider compared to her opponents.

“People here know that…

November 10, 2009 at 9:14 am | Comments (37)

Carney aide will manage Lentz campaign

A former campaign aide to Joe Sestak and Chris Carney who has recently served as Carney’s legislative spokesman has been hired to run state Representative Bryan Lentz’s (D-Delaware) bid for the 7th District House race.

Vincent Rongione, a Delaware County native, was a deputy campaign manager for Sestak in 2006 and the campaign manager for Carney in 2008. Since then, he’s been Carney’s press secretary in Washington.

His hiring, announced Wednesday morning, continues Lentz’s early…

October 28, 2009 at 10:55 am | Comments (18)

House colleagues pitch in for Lentz

In raising more than $220,00 toward his Congressional bid last quarter, state Representative Bryan Lentz (D-Delaware) got some welcome help from his co-workers in the General Assembly, according to campaign finance data published Thursday.

Lentz, who finished the quarter with almost the full fundraising haul still in the bank and has since raised another $30,000, by no means relied on his state House colleagues for the bulk of his campaign cash. He…

October 15, 2009 at 3:24 pm | Comments (0)

Source: Meehan raised $200K in 16 days (Updated)

Former U.S. Attorney Pat Meehan raised more than $200,000 in just over two weeks after formally announcing his Congressional candidacy last month, a source close to the campaign told pa2010.com.

Meehan got into the 7th Congressional District race Sept. 14, with Republican leaders seeming to clear the field for him to set up one of the most competitive House races in the country. In the 16 days between then and the close of the FEC’s…

October 6, 2009 at 12:32 pm | Comments (14)

Not so suddenly, Pa. becomes ground zero for competitive House races

First, Joe Sestak left his seat open to take on Arlen Specter. Then, Jim Gerlach said goodbye to his hard-to-defend seat to run for governor instead. Later, the Democrats got their man to run a competitive race against Charlie Dent. Primaries got crowded. Political forecasters got more and more excited.

Oh, and there’s still those freshman and sophomore Democrats who have to defend conservative districts.

Day after day, the…

October 6, 2009 at 9:33 am | Comments (1)

Lentz rolls out endorsements from local insiders

In a bid to show that the local Democratic establishment is firmly behind him, state Representative Bryan Lentz (D-Delaware) on Thursday announced endorsements from dozens of elected and party officials, ranging from borough mayors and council members to local party chairs and district school board members.

Taken together, Lentz, who is running for Congress in the 7th District, said the insiders backing him “form the backbone of our party.”

“It is truly an honor to…

October 1, 2009 at 11:11 am | Comments (7)

Lentz or Vitali? The question exposes a DelCo divide (Updated)

Ever since Congressman Joe Sestak (D-7) began signaling that he’d leave his House seat open in favor of a Senate run, Delaware County Democrats have been determined to hold onto a district it took them almost 20 years to win back. To that end, many have rallied around state Representative Bryan Lentz as the best candidate. But it seems that just as many have been prodding state Representative Greg Vitali to enter the race. And…

October 1, 2009 at 7:00 am | Comments (10)

DelCo Dem chairman not worried about a PA-7 primary

DREXEL HILL—Many Democrats in Delaware County readily admit to being terrified at the prospect of a bloody, contested primary in the 7th Congressional District. Republicans, who are widely seen as having a stronger local party organization, still outnumber Democrats in the district. It took one of the worst political climates for the GOP in decades for the Democrats to finally win the seat in 2006. And the local GOP leadership seems to have already cleared…

September 28, 2009 at 1:56 pm | Comments (1)