Could Gerlach’s exit actually make things easier for Dems?

With Jim Gerlach bowing out of the governor’s race and leaving Attorney General Tom Corbett as the GOP’s presumptive nominee, many political observers may assume Republicans now have an easier path to retaking the Governor’s Mansion.

But is that really the case?

Sure, Corbett has had to do little to garner media attention during his run for the state’s highest office, thanks to his now three-year long—with no end in sight—“Bonusgate” investigation, which…

January 8, 2010 at 10:57 am | Comments (5)

Jane Orie worried that a Senate run would have hurt sister’s judicial bid

The word on the street is that Jane Orie’s short-lived exploration about a 2010 U.S. Senate bid was indeed shut down quick due to concern about potential damage her sister’s judicial race.

In other words: If Jane Orie ran against Pat Toomey in a GOP primary, then Joan Orie Melvin might have a tough time in her bid for state Supreme Court, should Toomey supporters decide to dole out some payback and vote…

July 18, 2009 at 1:37 pm | Comments (0)

Santorum denies rumors of involvement in Senate recruiting

Rumors have been swirling this week that former Senator Rick Santorum was the key player in bringing state Senator Jane Orie down to Washington to meet with the National Republican Senatorial Committee and trying to convince her to run against Pat Toomey. Several Republicans have asked me to look into this. Conservatives who back Toomey are convinced that Santorum has an axe to grind and that he’s driving efforts to find an alternative…

July 14, 2009 at 12:42 pm | Comments (2)

Orie says she won’t run against Toomey

State Senator Jane Orie (R-Allegheny) said Monday that she would not run for U.S. Senate next year, removing yet another name from the list of possible GOP challengers to Pat Toomey and making it more likely that Toomey will emerge from the primary largely unscathed.

In a statement, Orie, who had reportedly met with Republican leaders in Washington recently, said the contentious budget negotiations in Harrisburg had to take priority over any political…

July 13, 2009 at 6:06 pm | Comments (6)

Wanted: Democrats for Lt. Gov.

The list of Republicans mulling a run for Lieutenant Governor reads like a GOP variety show, with more than a dozen candidates of every stripe lining up to play second fiddle to their party’s gubernatorial nominee. They include party mainstays, rising stars, political unknowns and everything in between.

But at this still-early stage, the Republicans are mostly alone in the field. Only one Democrat has said he is likely to run, and while others have been mentioned as viable, a deluge of Democratic candidates in to the race seems unlikely anytime soon.

So why are Democrats lukewarm to the contest?

April 19, 2009 at 6:10 pm | Comments (1)