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LEFTOVERS: Obama & Sestak, Halliburton & Toomey, generals in Pa., Romney endorsements

There was apparently some intrigue on Wednesday when Joe Sestak wasn’t one of the elected officials who joined President Obama in Pittsburgh. Arlen Specter, the man Obama backed and Sestak beat, was there. It was noted earlier that other pols turned down the chance to hang with the president.

Sestak was on the other end of the state, but there were early conflicting accounts as to whether or not he was actually invited, and a press corps already juiced up from the so-called Jobgate controversy was ready to point out any possible tension between Obama and Sestak. That seemed to be mostly a misunderstanding by day’s end, and our friends at Early Returns 2.0 explain what went down.

Meanwhile, Sestak’s Republican rival Pat Toomey is benefiting from an increase in campaign contributions from Halliburton, the oil services company that is once again under a harsh spotlight, this time for its role as a contractor on the oil rig that exploded on the Gulf Coast and is still spewing weeks later. The company has been stepping up donations to incumbents and candidates, Politico reports, and Toomey got $2,500 from the pot.

From the Lehigh Valley, our friends at Pennsylvania Ave. note that Bethlehem mayor and congressional hopeful John Callahan is meeting this week with a group of retired military officers who are pushing for the closure of the prison at Guantanamo Bay. This is actually part of a larger campaign, with the group, which includes two generals, traveling around talking to candidates and the press about Gitmo. Yours truly is meeting with them Thursday afternoon.

And former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the one-time and likely two-time presidential candidate, endorsed a slate of Republican candidates in the Keystone State Wednesday. Among the lucky GOPers to win the support of Romney’s Free and Strong America PAC were gubernatorial nominee Tom Corbett, incumbent Congressmen Jim Gerlach (R-6) and Charlie Dent (R-15) and congressional challengers Mike Fitzpatrick and Lou Barletta. The PAC is also spreading $15,000 worth of campaign cash between the candidates. Romney has already backed Toomey and 7th District candidate Pat Meehan.

“Pennsylvanians are fortunate to have so many candidates committed to keeping taxes low, cutting wasteful spending, and creating a pro-growth environment,” Romney said in a statement. “It is critical that we elect fiscally-conservative leaders who will focus on turning our economy around rather than growing the size of government, and that is why I am proud to endorse these candidates today.”

June 2, 2010 at 11:22 pm

--Dan Hirschhorn

Tags: Barack Obama, Charlie Dent, Jim Gerlach, Joe Sestak, John Callahan, Lou Barletta, Mike Fitzpatric, Mitt Romney, PA-11, PA-15, PA-6, PA-8, Pat Toomey, Tom Corbett

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