MontCo Dems forgo Senate endorsement

PLYMOUTH MEETING—Despite boisterous support from a contingent of Joe Sestak supporters, the Montgomery County Democratic Committee declined to endorse a candidate for Senate here Thursday.

The decision to forgo an endorsement means that sample ballots in the county will list the names of both Sestak and incumbent Senator Arlen Specter. Party insiders are now free to support either candidate in the May primary. It came after weeks of rumors that party leaders were jockeying to…

March 12, 2010 at 4:53 am | Comments (23)

Rep. asking questions about Sestak’s job-offer claim

Democrat Joe Sestak’s claim that the White House offered him a job to dissuade him from running against Arlen Specter has apparently drawn the scrutiny of the ranking Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform committee.

Politico reports that Congressman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) wrote to the White House Wednesday, saying that if Sestak is telling the truth, the administration might be in violation of federal law prohibiting officials from using government power…

March 10, 2010 at 5:13 pm | Comments (10)

Labor endorsements for Sestak, Specter

The Democratic candidate for Senate spent Monday rolling out dueling labor endorsements, with Arlen Specter winning the backing of autoworkers and a major western Pennsylvania union council, while Joe Sestak announced support from a powerful food workers’ union.

Specter’s endorsement from the Allegheny County Labor Council was particularly notable, since the support of the council, which represents about 100,000 workers in the state, is effectively a recommendation to the statewide AFL-CIO. As he’s racked up union support in recent weeks, Specter has continued to court the state’s largest umbrella labor group, which has backed him in the past.

March 8, 2010 at 6:52 pm | Comments (38)

Sestak endorsed by women’s group

The National Organization for Women’s political action committee endorsed Democrat Joe Sestak’s Senate bid Friday, calling him “a leader in the struggle to achieve full equality for women and girls.”

The endorsement gave Sestak his most significant organizational support in his primary bid against Senator Arlen Specter. It was delivered at Sestak’s campaign office in Pittsburgh.

“The National Organization for Women Political Action Committee is proud and excited to endorse such a strong candidate for…

March 5, 2010 at 2:30 pm | Comments (43)

LEFTOVERS: An open GOP primary in the 8th, Sestak on DADT

The Bucks County GOP is not endorsing a candidate for the 8th Congressional District.

That’s the word out of their meeting Thursday night. The endorsement was effectively former Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick’s for the taking. But with some grassroots conservatives wary of his changed positions on the Employee Free Choice Act and other issues, not to mention the harsh political climate for “establishment” candidates, Fitzpatrick called for the party to forgo an endorsement. Despite some early…

March 5, 2010 at 1:52 am | Comments (3)

LEFTOVERS: More PA-12 hopefuls, blog targets Onorato, Q-poll numbers

The candidates keep coming in the 12th Congressional District.

One of the latest is attorney Ron Mackell Jr., a Texas attorney who used to live in Johnstown. The Tribune-Democrat reports that he’ll seek the Democratic nomination in the May primary, but he won’t vie for the party’s nod to run in the special election. The newspaper also reports that Bill Choby, a Johnstown resident who tried to unseat the late John Murtha…

March 2, 2010 at 4:30 pm | Comments (6)

New York congressman endorses Sestak

Congressman Joe Sestak (D-7) got a second House colleague to endorse his Senate bid Tuesday, and like the first, that support came from outside Pennsylvania.

Congressman Eric Massa (D-NY) backed Sestak at the end of a five-city tour across Pennsylvania, during which Sestak focused on veterans’ issues. Like Sestak, Massa is a former Navy officer.

“I served with Joe Sestak in the United States Navy and I know that he’s the real deal,” Massa said…

March 2, 2010 at 3:19 pm | Comments (46)

Some thoughts on Sestak’s poll numbers—and TV

There’s been some recent chattering about Sestak’s relatively stagnant standing in the polls. The latest Quinnipiac University poll shows him trailing Senator Arlen Specter in the May primary by 24 points, not much of a rise from his 29-point deficit in the survey last May. In the Franklin & Marshall College poll, Specter’s gone from a 26-point hole in August to a 17 points down in February.

Some folks have taken this as an indication…

March 2, 2010 at 10:47 am | Comments (26)

Specter takes a lead over Toomey in new poll

Senator Arlen Specter is enjoying his first statistically significant lead over Republican Pat Toomey in months, according to a new poll of the high-profile Senate race.

The Quinnipiac University survey released Tuesday showed Specter garnering 49 percent of the general election vote, compared to 42 percent for Toomey. Only eight percent of voters are undecided. Most polls have shown Toomey either tied or ahead of Specter going back to last the fall, even while the…

March 2, 2010 at 9:51 am | Comments (24)

Sestak responds to Specter camp brouhaha over salaries

For anyone waiting to see what issues might help determine the outcome of the Democratic Senate primary this spring, Round One is now up for your consideration.

The race between Senator Arlen Specter and Congressman Joe Sestak (D-7) has grown markedly more nasty over the issue of campaign staffers and what they’re paid.

On Monday, a several-days-long public relations skirmish escalated when Sestak fired back at Specter’s allegations that the salaries Sestak pays…

March 1, 2010 at 7:40 pm | Comments (15)