What was she thinking?

pFrom a href="http://www.pa2010.com/2010/02/exclusive-hafer-running-to-succeed-murtha/" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.pa2010.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pa2010.com%2F2010%2F02%2Fexclusive-hafer-running-to-succeed-murtha%2F','announcing+her+candidacy')" target="_blank"announcing her candidacy/a before John Murtha’s family had even had a chance to hold his funeral, to besmirching Murtha’s legacy in the eyes of many of his loyalists in the process of trying to smear her opponent, long-time Murtha aide Mark Critz, to a href="http://www.pa2010.com/2010/03/hafer-swipes-at-critz-selection-process/" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.pa2010.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pa2010.com%2F2010%2F03%2Fhafer-swipes-at-critz-selection-process%2F','decrying+and+questioning+the+fairness+of+the+process')" target="_blank">decrying and questioning the fairness of the process that named Critz the Democratic nominee for the special election to serve out Murtha’s term, Hafer’s short-lived campaign amounted to one misstep after another.

Her most mind-blowing comment had to come in an interview earlier this week with pa2010.com, during which the former state treasurer and auditor general, who has spent most of her adult life in politics,

March 11, 2010 at 9:47 am | Comments (6)

Hafer had petition problems

Turns out Barbara Hafer may not have been able to make it on the ballot, even if she didn’t

March 10, 2010 at 11:56 am | Comments (18)

Hafer steps aside in the 12th (Updated)

Democrat Barbara Hafer dropped out of the race in the 12th Congressional District Wednesday, abruptly ending a candidacy best known for her attempts to paint her main opponent as unelectable, a crusade that

March 10, 2010 at 9:21 am | Comments (12)

Hafer continues to hit process; Rooney calls her actions ‘repugnant’

Democrat Barbara Hafer is continuing her criticism of the selection process that gave a special election nomination to her opponent Mark Critz—and the state party chairman says it’s time to move on.

“This is another flawed process,” Hafer told pa2010.com Monday night after the state party’s executive committee

March 9, 2010 at 11:30 pm | Comments (15)

Critz wins nomination for special election (Updated)

Longtime John Murtha staffer Mark Critz on Monday won the Democratic Party’s nomination for a special election to finish out the late congressman’s term, as the party opted for a relatively untested candidate in a high-profile race, but one who knows the western Pennsylvania district in and out.

Details of the vote began to emerge Monday evening, after the state party’s executive committee had polled its members during the day. Multiple Democratic sources confirmed that…

March 8, 2010 at 11:45 pm | Comments (25)

Critz? Really?

I was just a bit surprised when I received the breaking news Saturday that local Democrats in the 12th Congressional District, had voted to support full story

March 8, 2010 at 8:00 am | Comments (8)

Could Cernic get the nod?

pCould Ed Cernic Jr. end up winning Monday?/p
pIt’s not as crazy it sounds. The Cambria County controller, who was seen by many as little more than a href="http://www.pa2010.com/2010/03/cernic-says-hes-no-spoiler/" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.pa2010.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pa2010.com%2F2010%2F03%2Fcernic-says-hes-no-spoiler%2F','a+spoiler+candidate')" target="_blank">a spoiler candidate, could emerge as a something of a compromise candidate for state Democratic Party leaders flummoxed by how best to hold the late John Murtha’s seat in the 12th Congressional District. One high-level party insider said Sunday that it was a distinct possibility Cernic might end up with the executive committee’s endorsement when it votes Monday.

“Barbara’s f—-d this up to the point that we’re looking hard at Cernic now,” he said. “He…

March 7, 2010 at 11:23 pm | Comments (8)

Hafer aide: ‘This guy is not electable’

DELMONT—A top adviser to Barbara Hafer said Saturday that Mark Critz simply cannot hold the 12th Congressional District for Democrats, in the most direct comments yet from a campaign which is making electability a key part of its argument.

“The reality is this guy is not electable,” Josh Morrow, who is running the early stages of Hafer’s campaign, told pa2010.com. His comments came shortly before

March 6, 2010 at 2:42 pm | Comments (21)

Local Dems back Critz for 12th District special

DELMONT—Longtime congressional staffer Mark Critz won the support of local Democratic Party insiders in the 12th Congressional District Saturday, officially becoming their preferred candidate for a special election before the state party’s executive committee makes a final nomination.

Critz, who was district director for the late Congressman John Murtha, won 55 percent of the votes cast by delegates at a morning meeting here—a significant show of support but not the overwhelming win that some had…

March 6, 2010 at 2:30 pm | Comments (12)

12th District notes: Washington County boycotts, Critz confusion on Facebook

DELMONT—On the eve of the Democrats’ non-binding straw vote to pick a successor for the late Congressman John Murtha, Washington County has decided to boycott the process.

The Post-Gazette p“What this is, it’s the party bosses trying to pick someone to run,” Clifton Cochran, a Washington County committeeman, told the newspaper./p
pMeanwhile, Critz got snagged in some confusion on a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=332920207340&ref=search&sid=805568429.900649770..1" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.facebook.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fgroup.php%3Fgid%3D332920207340%26amp%3Bref%3Dsearch%26amp%3Bsid%3D805568429.900649770..1','his+Facebook+page')" target="_blank">his Facebook page. The Pennsylvania Progressive

March 6, 2010 at 8:30 am | Comments (2)