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Altmire’s camp not talking politics yet

Most elected officials facing challenges in the fall are already publicly framing the debate against their opponents. Not Congressman Jason Altmire (D-4).

Altmire’s campaign has been relatively quiet since Republican Keith Rothfus won the May primary and the chance to challenge him in November. And when it comes to dealing with the media, Altmire’s camp has decided that for now, silence is golden. Campaign manager Rachael Heisler confirmed this week that the campaign simply isn’t taking press calls right now. She said she didn’t know when that might change.

“He’s going to focus on the job he was elected to do,” Heisler said of her boss.

Not that Altmire isn’t campaigning. He’s raising money, and last week his campaign asked supporters to volunteer to host house parties. Whether the campaign’s public silence means it considers Rothfus to be a great threat or not a threat at all remains to be seen. The race is currently No. 8 on the pa2010.com Congressional Power Rankings.

“It’s June, there are a lot of things going on in Congress, and [Altmire] doesn’t strike me as someone who is likely to underestimate his opponent,” said longtime pollster G. Terry Madonna. “Come August you’ll see a different Altmire in the district. I’d be shocked if he wasn’t running flat out.”

June 21, 2010 at 12:14 pm

--Michael Macagnone

Tags: Jason Altmire, Keith Rothfus, PA-4

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