Specter widens lead in Rasmussen poll; up 21 over Sestak

Senator Arlen Specter’s lead over Congressman Joe Sestak (D-7) in the Democratic Senate primary has widened, with the incumbent Republican-turned-Democrat now leading Sestak by 21 points, according to a new poll.

The

A Dem insider on Mass. race

Here’s one of our readers, knowledgeable Democratic insider E.M., on the results of Tuesday’s Senate race in Massachusetts:

What does Massachusetts election mean for November?

Just about everybody in politics has an opinion of what happened in the Massachusetts special election for US Senate yesterday. Here’s mine.

Two bedrock principles of political campaigning are in play here.

The first fundamental is “Never take an opponent or a…

In video, O’Brien’s just a regular guy

Lackawanna County Commissioner Corey O’Brien released the first Web video of his congressional campaign on Wednesday, a six-and-half minute biography juxtaposing interviews with the 11th District hopeful with testimonials from people like the local high school coach and the mayor of his hometown.

The video, embedded above, was O’Brien’s first concerted attempt to define himself for voters, less than 16 weeks before he looks to unseat longtime incumbent Congressman Paul Kanjorski (D-11) in a primary.…

Joe Sestak Accepts Erie Debate

By SESTAK FOR SENATE

MEDIA, PA — Today, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Congressman Joe Sestak accepted an offer to debate his opponent, Arlen Specter, in Erie at a forum hosted by WQLN.

Joe has proposed a series of six debates with Senator Specter, one in each of Pennsylvania’s media markets, in order to provide as many voters as possible the opportunity to learn more about the clear distinctions between the candidates. Joe has accepted an…

3 reasons why the Massacusetts race matters here

Almost the entire political class was shaking its head earlier this week at the thought that a Republican could win the U.S. Senate seat long held by the late Ted Kennedy. But now that pHere are three reasons—in no particular order—why the results in Massachusetts are important to the…

Wonder how he really feels…

Joe Hoeffel believes in marriage equality—and he really wants you to know.

Hoeffel, the Montgomery County Commissioner and Democratic candidate for governor, has been trying to position himself as the true progressive in the race from the moment he got in. So it’s no surprise that his campaign often takes to Twitter to emphasize the point.

They sure do it a lot, though. By our count, Hoeffel’s campaign has written about the issue

Another Toomey op-ed

If this election cycle doesn’t go well, Republican Senate candidate Pat Toomey might have another career option as an editorial writer. He’s sure been prolific during this campaign.

Here’s his latest, in which he calls the bailout fund a “personal slush fund” for Congress.

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Aichele downplays recent southeast straw vote

Chester County Commissioner Carol Aichele on Wednesday sought to play down the results of a

Pollster and money-man in tow, Hoeffel to brief supporters

A day before he pHoeffel, the Montgomery County Commissioner, will be joined by his a href="http://www.pa2010.com/2010/01/hoeffel-hires-fundraising-consultant/" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.pa2010.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pa2010.com%2F2010%2F01%2Fhoeffel-hires-fundraising-consultant%2F','recently-hired+fundraising+consultant+Scott+Gale')" target="_blank"recently-hired fundraising consultant Scott Gale/a, and by pollster Celinda Lake. In the letter to supporters, Hoeffel said Lake would present a detailed poll on the race, which he called “very encouraging.”/p
pThe campaign is doing three briefings on Monday: one in the morning in downtown Philadelphia, another one in the early evening in downtown Philadelphia, and on in the evening at the Jenkintown home of Montgomery County Democratic chair Marcel Groen./p
pIt was, in part, a poll by Lake that helped convince Hoeffel to enter the race a few months ago. A nationally-renowned pollster, Lake a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0110/31682.html" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.politico.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.politico.com%2Fnews%2Fstories%2F0110%2F31682.html','caught+some+flak+this+week')" target="_blank">caught some flak this week from Democrats who said she should have seen the Massachusetts special election for Senate tightening before it was too late.

“This will be an informal opportunity for you to hear from the leadership of our campaign, while also providing an opportunity for me and my campaign team to hear from you,” Hoeffel wrote in the letter.

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Why I’m with Doug Pike

DOWNINGTOWN—On Jan. 4, at the age of 26, I was inaugurated as the youngest-ever mayor of this borough in Chester County. I might not be Mayor of Downingtown without the help of Doug Pike.

When I was inaugurated, I knew that I could get a great deal accomplished for Downingtown, but 2 months earlier on Election Day, we were not certain of victory. Our campaign had been outspent by a 3-to-1 margin in a borough…