Rothfus says Altmire’s mosque opposition just posturing

If there’s one thing on which Congressman Jason Altmire (D-4) and Republican opponent Keith Rothfus agree, it’s that an Islamic community center shouldn’t be built two blocks from ground zero in New York.

But their agreement ends there, and Rothfus says Altmire is just playing politics—albeit with a subject that has become a political rallying cry for candidates across the ideological spectrum.

“He saw this as an opportunity to step away from the president, rather…

August 24, 2010 at 11:43 am | Comments (7)

Altmire hits the airwaves (Updated)

Congressman Jason Altmire (D-4) was set to take his campaign for a third term to the airwaves on Tuesday.

Altmire is starting with an ad buy on cable television, according to someone familiar with the buy. The precise size of the buy remains unclear. The 30-second spot, embedded at bottom, depicts the sophomore as an independent willing to buck his party, noting his votes against health care reform and the financial bailouts.

His first air…

August 24, 2010 at 11:35 am | Comments (2)

Altmire ‘offended’ by Ground Zero mosque

Count Congressman Jason Altmire (D-4) among the politicians who doesn’t think a mosque should be built two blocks away from where the Twin Towers once stood.

Altmire said over the weekend that he is “offended” by the idea of building the mosque and Islamic cultural center near Ground Zero, where the worst of the Sept. 11, 200 terrorist attacks occurred. Acknowledging the project’s backers have a legal and constitutional freedom to do so, Altmire said…

August 16, 2010 at 8:00 am | Comments (7)

Republicans just fine with Altmire silence

Congressman Jason Altmire (D-4) hasn’t held any public campaign events since the May primary, isn’t engaging political reporters, and is keeping a mostly low public campaign profile as his Republican opponent is on the trail nonstop. And that’s just fine with the GOP.

The National Republican Congressional Committee is hoping that Altmire’s Ignore-Keith-Rothfus strategy will backfire.

“A similar thing happened in 2006,” Brock McCleary, an NRCC political…

August 12, 2010 at 10:32 am | Comments (1)

Rothfus makes a volunteer-fueled ground blitz

BEAVER FALLS—As he continues to raise money toward his bid for a third term this fall, Congressman Jason Altmire (D-4) has kept a relatively low profile, with public events few and far between. So Republican opponent Keith Rothfus is seizing on the opportunity to undertake something of a blitz of on-the-ground, retail campaigning, as the conservative insurgent continues to rely heavily on volunteers for his underdog race against Altmire.

That strategy—heavily reliant on a lean…

August 5, 2010 at 7:59 am | Comments (5)

LEFTOVERS: Inky on Corbett, NRCC on Rothfus, Catholics United for Dahlkemper

Looks like The Inquirer wants Tom Corbett to “quit his day job.” Philly’s paper of record published an editorial Wednesday calling for the Republican attorney general to step aside and focus on his gubernatorial bid, citing that pesky confluence of politics and public life.

“It’s nearly impossible lately for the public to separate Corbett’s law enforcement duties from his role as the GOP nominee for governor,” the paper wrote. ” Increasingly,…

July 21, 2010 at 3:44 pm | Comments (23)

Rothfus staffs up for November

Slowly but surely, Republican Keith Rothfus is building a bit more of a campaign in the 4th Congressional District.

Rothfus, who provided the rare fundraising bright spot for GOP challengers in recent campaign finance disclosures, has made two senior-level hires, with plans for at least one more later this summer. Jonathan Raso is the campaign’s new, full-time finance director, while Jared Stutzman is the new volunteer coordinator.

Stutzman recently worked on Tim Burns’ 12th District…

July 20, 2010 at 9:14 am | Comments (4)

Altmire has more than $1.4M in the bank

Congressman Jason Altmire (D-4) is enjoying a huge advantage in campaign cash as he seeks reelection to a third term.

Altmire raised almost $300,000 in May and June, finishing the reporting period with more than $1.4 million in cash on hand, according to newly filed campaign finance data. That’s about seven times the money held by Republican opponent Keith Rothfus.

Despite stoking the ire of labor leaders…

July 13, 2010 at 9:21 am | Comments (2)

Rothfus has about $200K on hand (Updated)

After pulling off a big primary upset in the 4th Congressional District, Republican Keith Rothfus has apparently rebuilt most of the campaign war chest he had.

Rothfus, an Edgeworth lawyer, will show more than $200,000 in the bank when campaign finance reports are filed this week, an adviser said. The adviser, Michael O’Connell, called that amount “not half bad for a campaign that finished a primary six weeks ago and is raising money in a…

July 12, 2010 at 12:33 pm | Comments (4)

Altmire calls Rothfus an ‘extremist candidate’

Congressman Jason Altmire (D-4) is ready to define his Republican opponent, and the message he’s decided on is a simple one: Keith Rothfus is a radical right-winger.

“The choice in this year’s election could not be more clear,” Altmire wrote in an e-mail to supporters this week. “Western Pennsylvanians can choose to support a congressman who has always put the district first, even when it means standing up to his party’s leadership, or an extremist…

June 29, 2010 at 5:56 pm | Comments (7)