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SENATE UNDERDOG UPDATE: A new Dem candidate, a GOPer goes indie

It turns out that the Democratic primary for Senate is still a three-person race.

Yes, political junkies, there’s a candidate out there who no one’s talking about. His name is Joe VodVarka. He lives in McKees Rocks in Allegheny County, and owns a small business making springs for, among other customers, weapons manufacturers. And even though we hadn’t heard about him until recently, he actually filed a statement of organization all the way back in September. He’s raised about $5,000, according to campaign finance data, all of which he said came from his Social Security payments. His wife and son are handling most of the leg-work of managing the campaign, while he seeks the needed signatures to get on the May primary ballot.

“I’m trying to get on the ballot with Social Security checks,” Vodvarka told pa2010.com. “I don’t think anyone’s ever done that.”

Vodvarka said fair trade is an important part of his platform, though he emphasized that doesn’t mean “protectionism.”

“Fair trade is a level playing field where everybody can compete,” he said.

He also wants a year-long suspension of the payroll tax for small businesses.

“The only way we’re going to bring America back is with small businesses,” he said.

Meanwhile, a Republican underdog is going another route. Larry Murphy, who made waves on the blogosphere last April when he was described by pa2010.com as a “Republican who’s not afraid of [Rush] Limbaugh,” says he’s decided to run as a Libertarian candidate instead. We were curious about Murphy when we noticed his Web site wasn’t working anymore. He said the domain name expired, but the site will soon be back up. Despite the daunting challenge of getting on the ballot as a third-party candidate, Murphy said he’s staying in the race.

“The Republicans have become the Party of No, and a party against open primaries,” he said.

Murphy estimated he’ll need more than 10,000 signatures to get on the November ballot.

Another Republican underdog whose Web site has recently gone dead, former Chester County police officer Robert Townsend, did not return a call last week.

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March 1, 2010 at 2:30 pm

--pa2010.com Staff

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  1. WESTPADEM6

    Mar 1st, 2010

    Wow, this Senate candidate is not just your AVERAGE JOE. I wonder what VodVarka would think about Sestak paying his staff so badly that they qualify for food stamps?

  2. Mancini

    Mar 1st, 2010

    Campaign slogan, “VodVarka – Shaken not stirred”

  3. Hate VodVarka

    Mar 1st, 2010

    Derangement, madness and mental decay are clearly taking their toll on the trouble-plagued VodVarka. His poll numbers are abysmal, and the public is dismissive. His opponent’s resources are vast – and easily eclipse his own. His ties to racketeers are under intense scrutiny by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

    The time has come for VodVarka to be placed in a sanitorium or mental hospital where he can come to terms with his delusions.

  4. David Diano

    Mar 2nd, 2010

    Actually, I think VodVarka’s strategy is to try and cash in on the “Vote for the guy with the Slavic sounding name” crowd that are looking to vote against Specter. Or maybe “Price is Right” fans who like Bob Barker.

  5. Mancini

    Mar 2nd, 2010

    OK Diano. Only problem with your theory – VodVarka is Croatian.

  6. David Diano

    Mar 2nd, 2010

    Mancini-
    Do you ever get tired of being wrong?

    From Wikipedia:
    “Croats (Croatian: Hrvati) are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries.”

  7. Mancini

    Mar 2nd, 2010

    OK, that’s one for Diano.

    He’s got my vote. A clear tea party candidate.

    Anyone to rally support against Shestak and Specter will inevtiably split the grass roots.

    You can’t deny that. I dont know if “wikipedia” (whatever that is) has information on that, so maybe you can’t respond…

  8. David Diano

    Mar 2nd, 2010

    Mancini-
    One?? I’ve got a lot more than “one” against you.

    You keep using “Tea Party” like it’s a good thing. The Tea Party represents the dumbest of the dumb and the most misinformed rabble we’ve seen in decades.

    Specter has institutional support, not grassroots. Sestak’s “grassroots” support is all crabgrass and weeds.

    You continually demonstrate that you don’t have the first clue about anything.

    Wikipedia is a vast online encyclopedia which is very popular and well known (outside of your little universe):
    Here are two links about Croatia:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croats
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_name

    BTW, does anyone else think that Mancini is doing a Sarah Palin impersonation as a prank?

  9. Mancini

    Mar 2nd, 2010

    By the way Diano, his name is VodVarka, NOT “Hrvati”.

    So I dont get your point.

  10. JOE VOD VARKA FOR SENATE

    Mar 13th, 2010

    Joe Vod Varka wants to save Chraistmas

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