Kelly hopes to unite local GOP after tough primary

The six-way Republican primary in the 3rd Congressional District was as contentious as any other in the state, with candidates and grassroots activists feuding over just who was the most conservative choice. But now that Butler car dealer Mike Kelly has narrowly prevailed, he needs most if not all of the votes Republicans cast against him to win a competitive race against freshman Congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper (D-3).

So Kelly is hoping…

June 7, 2010 at 10:43 am | Comments (3)

Mike Kelly, sports metaphor machine

BUTLER—Before he was a Republican congressional candidate for the GOP, Mike Kelly played football.

In his youth, Kelly played fullback for the Center Township Rams—a team in the Butler Midget Football League that Kelly, who won the party’s nomination in the 3rd District Tuesday night, would later coach. The fullback-turned-tackle was named to several all-conference and all-state teams. He still serves on local sports league committees, and in 1999 he was…

May 19, 2010 at 3:02 pm | Comments (14)

Kelly eeks out a win in crowded primary to face Dahlkemper

BUTLER—Republican Mike Kelly narrowly edged out a crowded primary field in the 3rd Congressional District Tuesday, topping his closes rival by less than 1,000 votes and winning the chance to take on Congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper (D-3) in the fall.

It was several hours after the polls closed before news organizations began calling the race for Kelly, a well-known car dealer here. Both Kelly and primary rival Paul Huber had loaned their campaigns more than $300,000,…

May 19, 2010 at 6:30 am | Comments (10)

Buying the office?

It’s been conventional wisdom here in the 12th Congressional District that Republican Tim Burns’ ability to self-finance his campaign for the special election to serve out the remainder of the late Congressman John Murtha’s term in office was behind the GOP’s rationale to choose him over conservative grassroots favorite Bill Russell.

And considering the amount of cash Burns has personally injected into his campaign, that wisdom seems to be well-founded.

Burns…

May 18, 2010 at 11:12 am | Comments (4)

Huber loans campaign another $25K

The self-financing in the 3rd Congressional District is going down to the wire.

Republican Paul Huber, one of two Republican front-runners in the six-way primary field, loaned his campaign another $25,000 on Friday, according to campaign finance data. This came just days after Mike Kelly, Huber’s chief rival for the party’s nod to take on Congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper, briefly surpassed Huber as the loan-leader in the race.

Huber has now loaned his campaign $325,000 and…

May 15, 2010 at 5:28 pm | Comments (15)

Fierce farm fight in the 3rd

MEADVILLE—During a debate between the six Republican candidates in the 3rd Congressional District last month, there was an exchange between front-runners Paul Huber and Mike Kelly that went largely unnoticed.

“Unlike Paul, I grew up on a farm,” Kelly said during the debate at Allegheny College here.

Huber let it pass—but not for long. In separate interviews with pa2010.com the next day, they were trading barbs over just who…

May 13, 2010 at 2:30 pm | Comments (33)

LEFTOVERS: New ads from Corbett, Kennedy, Kelly & Bucchianeri

So many ads, so few days left before the May 18 primary.

One of the new spots came from Republican gubernatorial front-runner Tom Corbett. It’s a softer look at the state attorney general, in which he chats with folks at a barbershop. “In my very first week as governor,” Corbett says in the ad, “I’m going to send a reform plan to Harrisburg legislators, and believe me, some of them aren’t going to like it.”…

May 12, 2010 at 11:28 pm | Comments (0)

LEFTOVERS: No Obama visit, Peterson for Huber, Joe the Plumber, 50-foot Pelosi

Senator Arlen Specter won’t get a late-primary visit from his supporter-in-chief, President Obama. That was one of the takeaways from White House Press Secretary Gibbs’ briefing with reporters on Tuesday. Politico

May 11, 2010 at 7:23 pm | Comments (10)

In Huber vs. Kelly, the stylistic contrast is clear

MEADVILLE—There may not be much ideological daylight between Paul Huber and Mike Kelly, the Republican front-runners in the 3rd Congressional District. But as candidates, their styles could hardly be more different.

Huber is wonkish and reserved, sometimes even stoic as he displays a mastery of nitty-gritty policy details. His hands mostly sit idly on the table during debates, and he doesn’t get much more animated when he’s one-on-one, with a subtle smile and a slim…

May 11, 2010 at 2:45 pm | Comments (13)

Kelly kicks in another $100K (Updated)

Republican Mike Kelly is going into the homestretch ready to spend more of his own cash.

Kelly, one of two Republican front-runners in the crowded 3rd District primary, loaned his campaign another $100,000 late last week, according to newly-filed

May 10, 2010 at 6:46 pm | Comments (6)