1Q fundraising roundup

The Congressional fundraising numbers are in, and in the Senate race, Senator Arlen Specter is the winner. He raised $1.3 million on his way to a total of $6.7 million in his campaign coffers. However, he is not the biggest surprise of the quarter.

Although Allyson Schwartz (D-13) pulled in a strong as usual fundraising haul ($379k), bringing her total to $2.1 million and Patrick Murphy (D-8) has a low total of $252,000 in the bank, neither of them are the big surprise of the quarter.

The surprise of the 2009 year so far is Rep. Joe Sestak (D-7). He hauled in around $550,000, bringing his total to more than $3, 3 million. This is shocking, considering he is a second-term member of Congress who has already equaled Pennsylvania’s version of Terry McAuliffe, Democrat Joe Torsella, for a potential run at Arlen Specter. The other good news for Sestak is that the recent rise in piracy has gained him a lot of media attention, being a former Vice Admiral in the Navy.

Pa. Club for Growth Founder: Toomey Should Withdraw from Primary

By ARLEN SPECTER FOR SENATE

- Bill Parker, founder and former President of the Pennsylvania Club for Growth, calls on Pat Toomey to withdraw from the Republican Senate Primary. Parker endorsed Toomey in 2004 and also helped coordinate County directors for the 2004 Toomey campaign. Letter is being sent to Club for Growth members. (Full text of his letter is below and a …

The First Read — April 21, 2009

Good Morning!

Every morning, pa2010.com compiles the most important political news of the day, from newspapers to the blogosphere and back. Enjoy this edition.

For all the latest news, log on to pstrongCunningham looks to pain Onorato as ‘the insider candidate’/strongbr /
BETHLEHEM—If you ask Democratic insiders to name the early favorite to win their party’s gubernatorial nomination, most don’t hesitate: Dan Onorato, they say. The Allegheny County Executive has held the political and media status of “front-runner” since right after Gov. Ed Rendell won a second term in 2006, with news reports repeatedly describing him as a leading candidate. But Lehigh County Executive Don Cunningham thinks that’s ridiculous. And in his likely campaign against Onorato, Cunningham will look to turn what has been seen as an advantage into a political liability. a href="http://www.pa2010.com/2009/04/cunningham-looks-to-paint-onorato-as-the-insider-candidate/" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.pa2010.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pa2010.com%2F2009%2F04%2Fcunningham-looks-to-paint-onorato-as-the-insider-candidate%2F','Read+More')" target="_blank"Read More/a/p
pstrongWagner leaning toward gubernatorial race/strongbr /
Auditor General Jack Wagner says he’s seriously considering a run for governor, and is much more interested in that job than in running for Senate. His comments, during a recent phone interview with pa2010.com, came four months after he said he was considering both races. a href="http://www.pa2010.com/2009/04/wagner-leaning-toward-gubernatorial-race/" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.pa2010.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pa2010.com%2F2009%2F04%2Fwagner-leaning-toward-gubernatorial-race%2F','Read+More')" target="_blank">Read More

With less to lose and an open field, Shapiro inches toward Senate race
With his elder colleagues seemingly hesitant to jump into what is sure to be a grueling and expensive Senate contest, state Representative Josh Shapiro (D-Montgomery) is slowly but …

Specter may back filibuster of Justice Dept. nominee

Senator Arlen Specter on Monday said that filibustering the Obama adminstration’s nominee for the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel is “under consideration,” CQ Politics reports.

Specter, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he hadn’t yet made a decision after meeting with the nominee, Dawn Johnsen.

Toomey for Senate

By PAT TOOMEY FOR U.S. SENATE

Dear Team Toomey,

As you now know, last Wednesday I announced that I will challenge Arlen Specter for the 2010 Republican nomination to the United States Senate.

In the 48 hours that followed, more than one thousand of you had logged on to www.toomeyforsenate.com and signed up to volunteer with my campaign.

Let me first say thank you.

It is my belief that success in this election will come …

Cunningham looks to paint Onorato as ‘the insider candidate’

BETHLEHEM—If you ask Democratic insiders to name the early favorite to win their party’s gubernatorial nomination, most don’t hesitate: Dan Onorato, they say. The Allegheny County Executive has held the political and media status of “front-runner” since right after Gov. Ed Rendell won a second term in 2006, with news reports repeatedly describing him as a leading candidate.

But Lehigh County Executive Don Cunningham thinks that’s ridiculous. And in his likely campaign against Onorato, Cunningham will look to turn what has been seen as an advantage into a political liability.

“Dan Onorato’s the insider candidate,” Cunningham told pa2010.com. “If you’re looking for the big money guy, with all the connections to the big law firms and hundred-thousand dollar donors, by all means that should be your guy. But I still have hope that politics is about all the people, something beyond who’s got the most connections to people who are writing big checks.”

Governor Rendell Announces $74 Million in Recovery Funds for Job Training, Youth Employment

HARRISBURG – Unemployed workers and youth seeking summer jobs will get a boost from approximately $74 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, or ARRA, Governor Edward G. Rendell said today.

“As Pennsylvanians continue to feel the effects of the national economy, it is imperative that we expand job retraining opportunities for unemployed workers and young people,” Governor Rendell said. “Nearly 500,000 Pennsylvanians were unemployed and looking for work in March. They need the …

Meehan makes an endorsement

No, not for governor. He’s running for that office himself.

Lehigh Valley Ramblings has the news about Pat Meehan endorsing Northampton County judicial candidate Craig Dally.

AP: Dem’s registration edge drops slightly

Though still outnumbering Republicans by well over a million voters, Democrats have seen their voter-registration edge dip slightly in recent months, The Associated Press reports (hat tip to Early Returns).

The Democrats’ advantage is still about 1.2 million votes, double what it was in 2004. But that lead has fallen by about 30,000 voters since Election Day last year, The AP reports.

Wagner leaning toward gubernatorial race

Auditor General Jack Wagner says he’s seriously considering a run for governor, and is much more interested in that job than in running for Senate. His comments, during a recent phone interview with pa2010.com, came four months after he said he was considering both races.

“I thought it through, and i decided the Senate race is not of interest to me,” he said, before quickly adding: “At this stage.”

Wagner would be formidable candidate in the Democratic primary, with a long record in elected office, relatively strong statewide name recognition and solid support from military veterans (he served in the Vietnam War).