Rothfus: ‘I’m not worthy’

WEXFORD—Before the polls closed Tuesday night, Republican Keith Rothfus said that win or lose, he was feeling one thing: Not worthy.

“I am humbled by the support I’ve received,” the Edgeworth lawyer and 4th District candidate said with a smile here. “I know it sounds cliché, but—I’m not worthy. The people I have met on this campaign—they are just people who believe in this country and believe in what this country can be. And I…

May 19, 2010 at 2:17 pm | Comments (0)

Rothfus beats Buchanan by wide margin

WEXFORD—Keith Rothfus said he just might be able to sleep Tuesday night.

“Relieved is how I feel right now,” he said about an hour after he was declared the winner of the 4th District Republican primary. “But now we have even more work to do.”

After keeping former U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan on the defensive for weeks, Rothfus easily sent her packing Tuesday. He won two-thirds of the vote, topping a party-favored candidate with…

May 19, 2010 at 5:15 am | Comments (2)

Buchanan sounds a confident note against Rothfus

PITTSBURGH—Mary Beth Buchanan looked confident from behind the podium. She smiled at the small group of supporters gathered outside the Allegheny County Building here Friday, and began a speech in which she laced into her Republican primary opponent in the 4th District.

“I don’t think this is a close election,” Buchanan, a former U.S. Attorney, said later. “If you go out in the district, you’ll see that many people have no idea why Keith Rothfus…

May 15, 2010 at 8:17 pm | Comments (7)

Rothfus calls Buchanan campaign mailer ‘deceitful’

Republican congressional candidate Keith Rothfus continued what has become a fierce campaign against 4th District primary opponent Mary Beth Buchanan Thursday, criticizing the former U.S. Attorney for using the National Rifle Association’s logo on a piece of campaign literature.

In a statement, the Edgeworth attorney’s campaign called Buchanan “desperate and deceitful” for using the prominent gun lobby’s logo on a piece of direct mail. The NRA sent Buchanan’s campaign a letter…

May 13, 2010 at 5:30 pm | Comments (3)

Altmire weighs in on GOP contest to face him

Let it be known that Congressman Jason Altmire (D-4) is impressed by Republican Keith Rothfus. Or maybe he’s just not impressed with Rothfus’ primary opponent, Mary Beth Buchanan.

Altmire this week briefly weighed on the GOP primary that will yield his November opponent. And like many other political watchers, he thinks Buchanan won’t just walk into the nomination like she may have hoped. For two reporting periods, the former U.S. Attorney has been bested in…

May 9, 2010 at 12:36 pm | Comments (3)

LEFTOVERS: Citizen stripping, Tommy Chong in the 4th, DFA for Sestak

The policy subject of the day Thursday was undoubtedly proposed legislation to revoke U.S. citizenship from those with terrorist ties, and a couple Pennsylvania pols were in the mix. Congressmen Jason Altmire (D-4) and Charlie Dent (R-15) joined Senator Joe Liberman (I-Conn.) and others in putting forward the measure, which they had apparently been working on for weeks but felt renewed momentum to push after the failed Times Square car-bombing this week. There was some…

May 6, 2010 at 10:45 pm | Comments (1)

Rothfus outraises Buchanan again, has loaned campaign $125K

Republican congressional hopeful Keith Rothfus has surpassed 4th District primary opponent Mary Beth Buchanan for the second consecutive period, raking in about $30,000 during April, more than twice what Buchanan raised, according to campaign finance data.

Rothfus, an Edgeworth lawyer, had about $157,000 in cash on hand as of April 28, thanks in large part to the $125,000 he has now loaned his campaign, according to finished the period with more than $1.2 million in…

May 6, 2010 at 3:32 pm | Comments (2)

Buchanan disavows bailout in robo-call

Republican Mary Beth Buchanan has taken to a robo-call to rebut what she calls “cheap political distortions” by 4th District primary opponent Keith Rothfus.

In the call, pHowever, she a href="http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_671615.html" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','www.pittsburghlive.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pittsburghlive.com%2Fx%2Fpittsburghtrib%2Fnews%2Fs_671615.html','told+The+Tribune-Review+last+month')" target="_blank">told The Tribune-Review last month that the bailout bill had prevented the economy from collapsing. She also seems to conflate…

May 5, 2010 at 11:30 am | Comments (2)

Malvern consultant managing Buchanan’s campaign

Republican Mary Beth Buchanan has a new campaign manager.

Mike Walsh, who has worked on the early campaigns for Rick Santorum and Tom Ridge, started running Buchanan’s campaign early last week. Buchanan, a former U.S. Attorney, saw her first campaign chief in the 4th Congressional District leave after he was quoted—but not accused of wrongdoing—in the grand jury presentment that indicted state Senator Jane Orie.

Walsh is currently a principal at…

April 29, 2010 at 5:43 pm | Comments (2)

Meakem endorses Rothfus in 4th Distrct

Prominent talk-show host and Pittsburgh entrepreneur Glen Meakem on Thursday endorsed Republican Keith Rothfus for Congress in the 4th District, lending still more credibility and momentum to the insurgent’s primary bid against former U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan.

Meakem, whose name was briefly floated as a Senate candidate last year, is well-known in western Pennsylvania for the conservative talk show he hosts and for his role a civic leader wealthy from founding businesses in start-up…

April 29, 2010 at 3:12 pm | Comments (0)