NRCC keeps up attack on Dahlkemper, Kanjorski

Republicans continue to make Pennsylvania’s two most vulnerable incumbents their two favorite targets.

The National Republican Congressional Committee is up with two new TV ads targeting Congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper (D-3) and Congressman Paul Kanjorski (D-11). The 30-second spots follow ads the GOP has already run against the two well-funded incumbents.

The ad against Dahlkemper fires back at a TV ad her campaign ran that was called “misleading” by FactCheck.org. The ad against Kanjorski takes broader…

September 27, 2010 at 10:59 am | Comments (0)

Polls show Republicans leading in NEPA

Polls commissioned by The Times Leader have found Republicans Tom Marino and Lou Barletta well positioned to knock off a pair of Democratic incumbents in northeast Pennsylvania.

A poll by the newspaper found Barletta leading Congressman Paul Kanjorski (D-11) by 11 points,

September 26, 2010 at 2:18 pm | Comments (2)

DOJ confirms ‘no record’ of Marino’s permission

The Department of Justice has confirmed it has “no record” of ever authorizing for U.S. Attorney Tom Marino to provide a gaming application reference for a businessman his office was investigating.

Marino’s claim that he was authorized to give Louis DeNaples a reference has dogged his 10th District congressional campaign, and it was Full Story

September 26, 2010 at 2:06 pm | Comments (3)

Barletta ad (calmly) fires back at Kanjorski

Facing a deluge of attack ads against him, Republican Lou Barletta has taken to the airwaves for some relatively gentle push back.

In Barletta’s latest TV ad, which began airing late last week, he sits at a diner counter and says Congressman Paul Kanjorski’s (D-11) “negative campaign doesn’t surprise me, or them.”

“He’s been in Washington so long,” Barletta says, “and become so out of touch that he has lot sight of the reality that…

September 26, 2010 at 1:45 pm | Comments (1)

Trivedi ad pushes back against residency attack

A new TV ad from Democrat Manan Trivedi fights back against attempts by Congressman Jim Gerlach (R-6) to paint him as a carpetbagger.

Gerlach’s campaign recently

September 23, 2010 at 10:18 am | Comments (13)

Dent cracks an Ethics Committee joke, Callahan pounces

Congressman Charlie Dent (R-15) would rather be on the Appropriations Committee. He’s not alone in coveting an influential spot that probably hundreds of lawmakers want. But when Democratic challenger John Callahan’s campaign got hold of a video in which Dent briefly seems to make light of being on the Ethics Committee instead, it quickly pounced.

Callahan’s campaign released the clip as part of a larger campaign video Wednesday. In it, Dent, joined by House Minority…

September 23, 2010 at 10:05 am | Comments (8)

Fitzpatrick up big in new poll

The first public poll taken in the 8th Congressional District this cycle has bad news for incumbent Democrat Patrick Murphy—he’s trailing big against Republican Mike Fitzpatrick, the man he knocked out of office in 2006.

The Franklin & Marshall College survey released Thursday found Fitzpatrick leading by 14 points among likely voters, 49 percent to 35 percent. That’s a leader larger than the ones documented recently by both candidates’ internal polling. Fifteen percent of likely…

September 23, 2010 at 9:57 am | Comments (25)

Kanjorski ad hits Barletta for opposition to training facility project

Congressman Paul Kanjorski (D-11) is using a new ad to take Republican opponent Lou Barletta to task for opposing a proposed training center for State Department security personnel that Kanjorski wants to bring to northeast Pennsylvania.

Barletta quickly denounced the project as dangerous and disruptive to the neighborhood when Kanjorski proposed it, even as Kanjorski promised it would bring 1,000 jobs to a northeast Pennsylvania district struggling economically like any other. The new 30-second spot,…

September 22, 2010 at 11:44 am | Comments (2)

Holden goes on TV with bio, pay raise ads

Sporting a big financial advantage, Congressman Tim Holden (D-17) has launched his TV campaign with a biographical spot and a commercial spotlighting his opponent’s role in passing the notorious legislative pay hike in Harrisburg.

Holden’s ads started airing in the central Pennsylvania district Tuesday. One 30-second spot highlights his support for military veterans. The other goes directly after state Senator Dave Argall (R-Schuylkill) for helping craft the pay raise legislation for state lawmakers that led…

September 22, 2010 at 11:38 am | Comments (8)

Kelly up six points in 3rd District

Riding a wave of dissatisfaction with incumbents, Republican Mike Kelly is holding a six-point lead against Congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper (D-3) six weeks before Election Day, according to a new poll.

The Franklin & Marshall College survey released Wednesday showed Kelly, a Butler car dealer, winning 44 percent of likely voters, compared to 38 percent for Dahlkemper. Eighteen percent of likely voters are still undecided in the northwest Pennsylvania district. Kelly’s lead is slightly smaller when…

September 22, 2010 at 10:39 am | Comments (20)