LEFTOVERS: SpecterPride, Kanjorski’s stimulus job, electricians for Pike

Reporters on the ground from Plymouth Meeting to Latrobe, and we still managed to miss plenty on Thursday.

Senator Arlen Specter will be formally rolling out his committee of major supporters within the LGBT community on Friday, in what his campaign is calling SpecterPride. The 68-member group includes Mark Segal, publisher of the Philadelphia Gay News. “No other elected official in all of Pennsylvania has such a long record of accomplishments on LGBT issues as…

March 12, 2010 at 1:32 am | Comments (2)

Anti-abortion group warns Altmire, Kanjorski on health care vote

One of the country’s leading anti-abortion groups is sending a warning shot to House Democrats that if they vote health care reform  legislation that loosens restrictions on federal funding for abortion, they should be ready to lose their jobs.

And they’re bringing polling data to prove it.

The Susan B. Anthony List, founded to advance the role of pro-life women in politics, rolled our their survey late last week, a poll that included data on…

March 8, 2010 at 1:33 pm | Comments (5)

Construction unions back O’Brien in 11th (Updated)

Lackawanna County Commissioner Corey O’Brien got the first labor endorsements of his congressional campaign Wednesday, when construction unions in the county backed him over incumbent Democrat Paul Kanjorski.

The Northeastern Pennsylvania Building & Constructions Trades Council and the Scranton Building and Construction Trades Council, which together represent about 10,000 workers, both gave their support to O’Brien’s primary challenge.

“We know that Corey will fight for our region to ensure that our local workers have good-paying…

March 3, 2010 at 2:46 pm | Comments (4)

O’Brien wants 10 forums with Kanjorski

Even by the standards of today’s campaign debate challenges, this one might be aiming high.

Lackawanna County Commissioner Corey O’Brien’s congressional campaign is seeking 10 candidate forums with incumbent Congressman Paul Kanjorski (D-11) between now and the May 18 primary day, allotting two for each of the counties in the district. The request was made in a letter Tuesday from O’Brien’s campaign manager to Kanjorski’s campaign manager.

“In this critical election year,” campaign manager Justin…

February 23, 2010 at 3:11 pm | Comments (8)

LEFTOVERS: More on the 12th, Cook downgrades Kanjorski, Rohrer on the ‘rebellion’

The pieces are almost done coming together in the 12th Congressional District. Friend-of-the-site Alex Roarty reports that wealthy Crown America Mark Pasquerilla is seriously considering a run. Though he has been a Murtha supporter in the past, Pasquerilla is a registered Republican whose ability to self-fund a campaign could rival that of fellow GOPer Tim Burns.

Alex also tells us that state Representatives Jeff Pyle (R-Indiana) and Dave Reed (R-Indiana), as…

February 18, 2010 at 11:30 pm | Comments (3)

THE PRESS ROOM: Local blogs spring up to slam candidates

An occasional series of articles exploring how political campaigns are playing out in the media—in print, on the air, online and behind the scenes.

Think pa2010.com is catering to a narrow niche? Think again.

A plethora of new Web sites are sprouting up in the blogosphere, mostly as vehicles to bash candidates loathed by their authors, but sometimes just to cover a particular race from a certain ideological view. Whether these blogs will play any…

February 15, 2010 at 12:00 pm | Comments (10)

4 fun facts from the 4th quarter

About a week after fourth-quarter FEC reports hit the Web, here are some interesting items that caught our attention.

1. Spending on one’s own campaign is all the rage, and why not? Surely no one believes in a candidate as much as the candidate himself. Be they in-kind expenditures, direct donations or campaign loans, House candidates in Pennsylvania kicked more than $700,000 into their own races in late 2009, according to campaign finance data. There’s…

February 9, 2010 at 10:56 am | Comments (6)

O’Brien handicapping Kanjorski’s chances at ‘zero’

Lackawanna County Commissioner Corey O’Brien is keeping up the electability argument.

O’Brien, who’s mounting an underdog primary challenge to Congressman Paul Kanjorski (D-11), says the longtime incumbent just can’t win a general election two years after he barely won in a Democratic sweep year.

“There is zero chance Paul Kanjorski defeats Lou Barletta. Zero,” O’Brien told Politico. “I may be wrong about that, but I’m not good at negative numbers. Republicans are giddy about this…

February 4, 2010 at 11:54 am | Comments (2)

Barletta endorses Corbett for governor

Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta endorsed Attorney General Tom Corbett for governor on Monday, in what seemed to be a political no-brainer for the Republican congressional candidate.

“It is with great enthusiasm that I endorse my friend and our Attorney General Tom Corbett for Governor,” Barletta said in a statement. “I pledge my support to his effort and look forward to being on the ticket with him this year.”

There was so little political risk in…

February 1, 2010 at 7:22 pm | Comments (2)

After late entrance, Barletta has $52K; still in debt

Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta only had about a month to raise money for his third congressional run before the door closed on 2009. In that time, racked up about $60,000 in donations, finishing the year with about $52,000 in cash on hand, according to campaign finance data.

As he looks for another showdown with Congressman Paul Kanjorski (D-11), the first quarter of 2010 will be a more accurate gauge of his…

February 1, 2010 at 7:30 am | Comments (0)