Biden raising cash for Dahlkemper, Critz

Vice President Joe Biden is coming back to Pennsylvania to raise money for two battleground House Democrats.

Biden will be in western Pennsylvania on Oct. 11 to headline a joint fundraiser for Congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper (D-3) and Congressman Mark Critz (D-12).

Dahlkemper faces Republican Mike Kelly in one of the state’s most competitive House races. Critz faces a rematch against Republican Tim Burns, who he beat in the May special election.

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We’re all experts

October is right around the corner, and that means an inundation of polling results from across the Commonwealth and the country. Every day there are new polls in the race for senate, governor, congress, and quite possibly, regional dogcatcher. With those polls will come feelings of validation, disbelief and everything in between.

Here’s a tip to decipher the validity of polling: If a candidate says “the only poll that matters is on Election Day,” they…

Former Navy head endorses Toomey

A former Secretary of the Navy has opted against endorsing the Navy man in Pennsylvania’s Senate race, endorsing Republican Pat Toomey instead.

John Lehman, who headed the Navy during the Reagan administration, threw his support behind Toomey during a morning event in Harrisburg.

“Pat is a man of principle and integrity,” Lehman said in a statement. “His commitment to the principles of limited government, individual freedom, and personal liberty are unwavering. Pat has tremendous respect…

Vets group spending $500K on lit drop for Sestak

A left-leaning military veterans group is spending half-a-million dollars on canvassing efforts to boost Democrat Joe Sestak’s Senate campaign.

VoteVets.org said the campaign literature would be “blistering” in its message, comparing Republican nominee Pat Toomey to Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and implying that Toomey puts financial industry interests above those of military servicemembers.

“What do Iran’s President and Pat Toomey have in common?” one piece asks. “Both would keep America dependent on oil.”

Some of…

Lentz hit for using a state car

Democratic congressional candidate Bryan Lentz is taking some heat from his opponent for joining many other state lawmakers in using a taxpayer funded car—seemingly in violation of a 2006 campaign pledge.

Republican Pat Meehan’s campaign criticized Lentz on the matter this week, noting that Lentz made Republican Tom Gannon’s use of a taxpayer funded car an issue before narrowly unseating him in a 2006 run for state House. At the time, Lentz said he wouldn’t…

F&M: Toomey up 9, Corbett up 4 among likely voters

The latest public poll adds to the growing body of data indicating a tightening governor’s race, but shows a Senate race with Republicans still firmly in the lead.

The Franklin & Marshall College survey released Wednesday found Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Corbett beating Democrat Onorato by just four points among likely voters, 36 percent to 32 percent. That margin represents one of the closest snapshots taken by a pollster to date, and a seven-point improvement…

LEFTOVERS: More poll results, Critz’s first ad

The number of polls whizzing by us the last few weeks have been dizzying. Naturally, there are two we’ve missed already this week.

The first is Magellan Data and Mapping Strategies. Like other public polls, Magellan found Republicans winning the statewide races. Tom Corbett leads Dan Onorato in the gubernatorial race by 12 points, 50 percent to 38 percent. Pat Toomey leads Joe Sestak in the Senate race by eight points, 49 percent to 41…

Sestak uses new ad to lay out ‘the difference’

Democratic Senate candidate Joe Sestak talks directly to the audience in his latest TV ad, as he continues his efforts to frame his race against Republican Pat Toomey as clear choice between starkly different candidates.

The 30-second spot features Sestak standing in front of a TV set airing a negative ad against him. “Congressman Toomey and his friends on Wall Street on attack ads like these.”

Sestak goes on to rehash Toomey’s past contention that…

Poll: Corbett up 7, Toomey up 5

Republicans continue to hold the edge in Pennsylvania’s competitive statewide races, but a new poll indicates that their leads might be narrowing as Election Day approaches.

The Suffolk University survey released Tuesday found GOP gubernatorial nominee leading Democrat Dan Onorato by seven points, 47 percent to 40 percent. Twelve percent are still undecided. And the poll showed Republican Pat Toomey holding a smaller, five-point lead in the Senate race against Democrat Joe Sestak, 45 percent…

Best moments came after the debate

The night started with Grey Goose martinis, Cabernet, buttered rolls, salad and a President Obama impersonator, who said America must “rebuild our roads and bridges so the American people can have a place to live under or jump from.”

For those scoring at home, that was a swipe at the $787 billion stimulus package passed in early 2009 by the Democratic-controlled Congress and signed by the Democratic president—an early turning point for this year’s election,…