12th District notes: Potential candidates galore

CORRECTION APPENDED (See bottom)

Barely a week after the passing of longtime Congressman John Murtha, there are so many names for potential replacements swirling in the political ether that  keeping track of them all is dizzying. Our friends at CQ Politics have pHere’s the latest on what we’re hearing, both about candidates already in the race and about those who may or may not run. Log-on…

LEFTOVERS: A billboard for Madeira, Sestak & Specter tussle over taxes, Facebook censorship from the GOP

Usually we hear more about campaign ads on the Web and TV than those old-fashioned billboards. But 10th District GOP hopeful Dave Madeira’s campaign last week was bringing our attention to what it said was the first billboard ad in the race. The ad, apparently at the intersection of Route 6 and Route 11 in Clark’s Summit, features a picture of the United States Constitution, next to the simple question: “Miss Me Yet?”

We’ll take…

In Rohrer’s rival event, messaging and field strategy intersect

As his primary opponent was celebrating an endorsement from the state Republican Party Saturday, state Representative Sam Rohrer (R-Berks) was celebrating an achievement of a different sort: his gubernatorial campaign’s increasingly central role in building, fostering—and if he has his way, harnessing—a local political movement that exists very much outside the party structure.

For months now, Rohrer and his supporters have vowed that their grassroots energy will overcome the political strength of a state GOP…

Let’s fix our bridges—now

We have an absolute responsibility to ensure public safety in the Commonwealth. We can do this, create jobs, and spur business while doing what we need to do anyway. Let’s fix our bridges and let’s fix them now.

Pennsylvania leads the nation in structurally deficient bridges. If elected, I would use my congressional office to bring a sense of urgency to solving this problem. There are 41 historic Delaware County bridges tgat lie in the…

Cawley wins GOP Lt. Gov. endorsement; Corbett and Toomey cruise (Updated)

Pennsylvania’s endorsed GOP ticket is set.

Bucks County Commissioner Jim Cawley won a hard-fought endorsement for Lieutenant Governor from the Republican State Committee Saturday, taking the victory on second-ballot voting shortly after party insiders also endorsed former Congressman Pat Toomey for Senate and Attorney General Tom Corbett for Governor.

Support for Toomey and Corbett hadn’t been in doubt for months, so it was the second-ticket spot that drew the most drama. A crowded field forced…

Between candidate forums, Morris calls Specter a ‘doddering old fool’

Former Clinton administration adviser turned conservative pundit Dick Morris headlined a dinner of state Republican Party insiders Friday night, delivering a scathing critique of Democrats in Washington full of punch lines targeting local incumbents and rooted in a belief that Pennsylvania can lead the way toward a Republican return to power.

“You can free us from Arlen Specter, who you inflicted upon us in the first place,” Morris said in targeting the Republican-turned-Democrat early and…

Lt. Gov. hopefuls talk economy, helping Corbett

With a party endorsement less than 24 hours away, seven Republican candidates for Lieutenant Governor shared a stage Friday afternoon, airing mostly similar positions on issues from economic and tax policies to plans for reforming the state’s budget process.

The forum was the first event of the Republican State Committee meeting in Harrisburg, and served as the candidates’ last chance to court party insiders before a formal endorsement is made Saturday afternoon. Bucks County Commissioner…

The ‘Matthews effect,’ the 13th District and the decline of the MontCo GOP

The Montgomery County GOP has endorsed pEarly comments on the vote have emphasized the so-called a href="http://writemarsh.blogspot.com/2010/02/mathews-effect-claims-its-latest-victim.html" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://writemarsh.blogspot.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwritemarsh.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F02%2Fmathews-effect-claims-its-latest-victim.html','Matthews+Effect')" target="_blank">Matthews Effect,…

Corbett up big over Dem rivals

Attorney General Tom Corbett holds wide leads over his potential Democratic rivals for governor, according to a new poll.

The

Absent from Harrisburg

We regret to say that due to unforeseen circumstances, pa2010.com Central will not be on the ground this weekend for the Republican State Committee in Harrisburg.

Our apologies to readers who have come to expect on-site coverage.

We’ll still bring you the news, with the help of a phone and our trusty friends at PCN, who are broadcasting the whole thing.

Stay tuned.

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