Sestak rallies volunteers for the final push

PITTSBURGH—Trailing in the polls with just 30 days to go before his showdown with Arlen Specter, Congressman Joe Sestak (D-7) on Sunday rallied volunteers for his campaign throughout the state, looking to kickoff the final push toward primary day on a positive note.

Sestak addressed supporters at his campaign office here, in a speech that the campaign said was broadcast to volunteers at offices in Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Doylestown, State College, Elkins Park and his home…

A new way out

I don’t know the system perfectly, I’ll be honest. But the Philadelphia Republican Party is a joke, that I know.

I couldn’t find a better definition of corrupt, lazy patronage in the dictionary. But, there is an idea in the back of my head.

Anthony Williams poses a real threat to Tom Corbett. Although strictly political, having a functional Republican party in the city would surely help Corbett. On Wall Street, Eliot Spitzer (dare I…

A Monday registration deadline

Monday is the deadline to register to vote in Pennsylvania’s May 18 primary.

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Corbett reportedly to air TV ads this week

He’s the overwhelming front-runner in the GOP primary for governor, but state Attorney General Tom Corbett is still going to buy some TV time.

The Morning Call

LEFTOVERS: DeMint for Toomey, Daily Kos for Trivedi, Boyle for Onorato

There was plenty of news to slip through the cracks during this busy week.

Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) is getting in on the celebration of Arlen Specter’s party-switch. The prominent conservative is trying to help Republican Senate candidate Pat Toomey raise money by commemorating Specter’s defection to the Democrats. Politico reports that DeMint’s political action committee launched a Web site, Full Story

Northeast Philadelphia Representative Brendan Boyle Endorses Dan Onorato

By ONORATO FOR GOVERNOR

PHILADELPHIA: State Representative Brendan Boyle (D-170) formally endorsed Dan Onorato for Governor today at a rally in his Northeast Philadelphia district. The two joined volunteers in a canvass of the neighborhood before Onorato traveled to Bristol Borough in Bucks County for a rally and canvass with U.S. Representative Patrick Murphy, an early supporter. Onorato was also joined by a number of labor organizations including SEIU Healthcare PA, The International Brotherhood of…

Judge rules Touey can’t be on ballot, leaving Lentz alone in 7th District

Let the general election begin in the 7th Congressional District.

A state judge ruled Thursday that Democrat E. Teresa Touey had only 992 valid signatures on her nominating petitions, less than the 1,000 required. Commonwealth Court Judge P. Kevin Brobson’s decision kept Touey off the May primary ballot, leaving state Representative Bryan Lentz (D-Delaware) as the only Democrat in the race. He will face former U.S. Attorney Pat Meehan in November, and the two have…

Kicking in another $100K, Pike maintains the money edge over Trivedi

Democrat Manan Trivedi raised more money from donors who weren’t himself during the first quarter of the year than primary opponent Doug Pike. But Pike continued to write big checks for his campaign in the 6th Congressional District, and after contributing another $100,000 toward the effort, Pike continues to enjoy a cash advantage of almost $1 million, according to newly-filed campaign finance data.

Trivedi, a Reading doctor and Iraq War veteran, raised more than $170,000…

York mayor, lawmaker endorse Onorato

Two high-profile Democrats from York endorsed Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato on Friday.

York Mayor Kim Bracey and state Representative Eugene DePasquale (D-York) both threw their support behind the party’s front-runner to succceed Gov. Ed. Rendell during a news conference at York City Hall.

“As someone familiar with the challenges small communities face, I know what Dan Onorato has done in Allegheny County and it is exactly what we need to do statewide,” Bracey said…

An 11th District PR flap goes (kind of) public

You don’t see this every day.

Campaign aides to Paul Kanjorski and Lou Barletta put out competing statements about Barletta’s first quarter fundraising numbers Thursday, with Kanjorski’s camp charging that Barletta had misled donors and the public and Barletta’s camp firing back that Kanjorski, basically, can’t read.

But it got more interesting after that, when Barletta’s senior political adviser Vince Galko e-mailed Kanjorski’s campaign spokesman Ed Mitchell directly—and cc-ed reporters on the e-mail.

“Ed, I…