Rohrer backers still talking write-in

Two-and-a-half months after he was dispatched in the gubernatorial primary, Republican Sam Rohrer’s most ardent supporters are still working toward a write-in campaign for the state lawmaker.

The Inquirer reports that the still modestly-sized group is getting more organized, with one supporter hoping that as many as 50,000 people will write Rohrer onto their ballots. Two Web sites are up and running, PatriotsForSamRohrer and SamRohrerWriteIn. Any significant…

August 2, 2010 at 8:32 am | Comments (9)

LEFTOVERS: Corbett’s spokesman, a Rohrer write-in, a Walt Hufford sighting

Tom Corbett’s spokesman is going from government to politics. Kevin Harley, Corbett’s main press man at the Attorney General’s office, will now be the chief spokesman of the Republican’s gubernatorial campaign, PoliticsPA reports. He joins campaign manager Brian Nutt as another staffer who has made the not-remotely-unusual jump from a government paycheck to a campaign salary. Nutt had handled most of the press himself during what was mostly a snoozer of…

June 7, 2010 at 4:00 pm | Comments (4)

The top 5 campaign Web sites

In its most basic form, a campaign Web site is little more than a bare-bones, online biography of a political candidate and a description of his or her stances on the issues. Such rudimentary creations do little to inspire in this digital world of contemporary politics.

But at its best, a campaign Web site is so much more. It is a gateway into a candidate’s political persona, a gathering place for supporters, a strategic hub…

May 17, 2010 at 6:20 pm | Comments (7)

GOP goes after Rohrer in mailer

The state Republican Party is going directly after underdog conservative gubernatorial candidate Sam Rohrer in a direct-mail campaign, rehashing his vote for the controversial 2005 legislative pay raise and saying that “the choice for governor could not be more clear.”

The campaign mailer, first reported by Capitolwire (subscription only), marks the first time that the state party has used any significant kind of paid media to attack Rohrer in his insurgent bid against state Attorney…

May 14, 2010 at 11:48 am | Comments (20)

Diamond endorses Rohrer for guv

It’s usually a given that candidates for Lieutenant Governor will do whatever they can to suck up to their party’s likely top-ticket gubernatorial nominee. But reform advocate Russ Diamond is taking another tack: he’s with underdog Sam Rohrer.

Diamond, one of nine Republicans running for Lt. Gov., endorsed the conservative state Representative over front-runner Tom Corbett in a statement on Thursday.

“Sam Rohrer is one of the most sincere, principled individuals I’ve ever met,” Diamond…

May 13, 2010 at 5:16 pm | Comments (2)

Two surveys show Onorato up big in guv race

Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato has opened up at least a 20-point lead over his Democratic rivals for governor a week in the closing days before the primary election, according to two new polls.

The surveys released Wednesday echoed a body of polling data that has showed Onorato pulling away from the pack, and their results differed little from other recent polls. In a Quinnipiac University poll, Onorato garnered 38 percent of the vote, compared…

May 12, 2010 at 9:09 am | Comments (6)

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 reports Gibbs saying that Obama is not considering a trip to the Keystone State between now and next Tuesday’s primary. That doesn’t mean Obama is absent from the campaign trail: his support for Specter continues to manifest itself in full story

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

Corbett comfortably sitting on $3.7M

Already looking forward to the general election, Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Corbett looks poised to have a big head start in the money race against whichever Democrat he faces.

With all four Democrats emptying their campaign coffers to win the party’s nomination, Corbett spent about the same amount in one month as candidates like Dan Onorato and Anthony Williams are spending weekly. The state Attorney General and presumptive GOP nominee raised almost $920,000 over the…

May 9, 2010 at 9:58 pm | Comments (5)

Some big donors mean a good month for Rohrer

Conservative underdog Sam Rohrer was seeking some high-dollar donors for the final push—and he found a few.

Three individuals gave the Republican candidate for governor more than $10,000 in April, hardly the massive sums being collected by other candidates but a large amount for Rohrer’s grassroots campaign. Thanks in part to them, Rohrer had one of his best fundraising periods of the campaign, raking in more than $232,000, according to state campaign finance data. And…

May 9, 2010 at 9:42 pm | Comments (3)

LEFTOVERS: Tea Party for Dent, Manchin for Critz, UNITEPA for Rohrer

Primary day is just over two weeks away, and the endorsements are still in full swing.

Congressman Charlie Dent (R-15) won the backing of a Philadelphia Tea Party group. Republican Mat Benol, who’s challenging Dent from the right, was surprised when the Independence Hall Tea Party Political Action Committee endorsed the incumbent over him. Benol seemed to chalk it up to the fact that the group is an hour south of the Lehigh Valley district.…

May 3, 2010 at 4:31 pm | Comments (3)