Kortz, who had been something of a super-underdog n the Democratic primary between Specter and Congressman Joe Sestak (D-7), dropped out of the race in mid-January. Appearing with Specter in Wilkins Township, Kortz said the Republican-turned-Democrat “has influence, he has stature, and that cannot be minimized.”

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Kortz said in a campaign statement, “Senator Specter has the experience, he has the capability of getting things done, he has demonstrated performance in the past. He has the ear of the President of the United States, the Vice President and the administration at large. Specter is willing to work and push forward that Democratic agenda. And that willingness will be reciprocated, because the administration will be willing to put forth his agenda, and we are going to be part of that agenda.”

Specter was also endorsed by state Senator Jay Costa (D-Allegheny), as well as state Representatives Paul Costa (D-Allegheny), Paul Costa (D-Allegheny), Joe Preston (D-Allegheny) and Tim Solobay (D-Washington). More than half-a-dozen area labor unions are scheduled to endorse Specter Monday, as he continues to build party support ahead of next weekend’s Democratic State Committee endorsement meeting in Lancaster.

Kortz had always been a super-underdog, trying to garner attention in the high-profile contest between Arlen Specter and Joe Sestak. But he had worked hard, showing up at dozens of events and insisting he wouldn’t be counted out. As recently as last month, he said “we’re going to surprise some people.”

But on Thursday, he said he had been unable to raise the funds necessary to run a serious race. He did not endorse another candidate.

“The sad truth is, to be successful in this arena, one must be able to access the funds necessary to drive the message home,” Kortz said in a statement.

“I entered the contest last April because of the unacceptable economic meltdown our country has suffered,” he added. “I have worked diligently over the last 8 months traveling many thousands of miles, pressing the message that this economic debacle is the No. 1 issue and that those responsible must be held accountable. Millions of hard working Americans have lost their jobs through no fault of their own. Thousands of businesses have been devastated because of irresponsible actions and outright greed by others. I worked very hard to drive this message across Pennsylvania.”

Following the withdrawal of former Commonwealth Court Judge Doris Smith-Ribner, the primary is back to a two-person race between Specter and Sestak.

“I have not called any of the pollsters,” Korts said Friday.

Kortz’s campaign, he said, commissioned its own poll. He said it found him garnering 11 percent of the primary vote.

“We’re gonna surprise some people,” he said. “They don’t take us for real.”

State Representative Bill Kortz (D-Allegheny) has long been getting the short end of the media stick during his super-underdog race for Senate. In a Democratic primary dominated by Senator Arlen Specter and Congressman Joe Sestak (D-7), Kortz has more often than not been an afterthought—in the minds of his opponents, political insiders and reporters alike.

Well, he’s sick of it.

Kortz’s campaign e-mailed reporters a release late last week headlined “Citizens Question Media Coverage of U.S. Senate Race in Pennsylvania.” Clearly, Kortz is one of those citizens, with his campaign saying that he’s “perceived as being too often ignored by the mainstream media who concentrate their reporting on only two candidates.”

But he’s not the only one. The campaign also included a letter from Allentown lawyer Richard J. Orloski to MSNBC‘s Hardball host Chris Matthews. In the letter, which his office confirmed is authentic and was copied to Kortz, Orloski tells Matthews “he’s concerned that you are misleading the public concerning the 2010 U.S. Senate Democratic Primary by billing it as a Specter vs. Sestek [race] only.”

Orloski goes on to laud Kortz’s campaign efforts and say that having a Pittsburgh-area candidate in a race against two Philadelphia-area candidates who could split the vote may very well work to his advantage.

“I am bringing this to your attention so that you will have all [the] facts to play hardball,” he wrote.

Alas, the letter appears to have gotten almost no coverage.

With money tough to scrounge up in a primary dominated by Arlen Specter and Joe Sestak, Kortz has been largely self-funding a bare-bones campaign—paying for travel expenses without reimbursements and loaning the campaign money while raising minimal amounts from local party committees in his district.

All in all, the campaign has raised only $4,400 throughout the election cycle, finishing the third quarter with about $4,000 in cash on hand, according to campaign finance data. Kortz has loaned the campaign 6,000, while paying for more than $12,000 of travel costs.

At the close of the quarter, the campaign had more than $16,000 in outstanding debt.

Click here to see Kortz’s campaign finance report.

Kortz, who has struggled to get much attention in the high-profile primary between Congressman Joe Sestak (D-7) and Senator Arlen Specter, said he had accepted an invitation from the Meadville school, and hoped his rivals would do the same.

“Bill Kortz hopes that Senator Specter and Joe Sestak will accept this first of many offers he believes will be forthcoming to debate the important issues in this campaign,” his campaign said in a statement. “Kortz believes that debates will give Pennsylvanians a clearer picture of where each candidate stands on the issues.”

It’s hard getting noticed when you’re among the heavyweights.

But the dinner that was supposed to honor C.B.K. was anything but an honor to her memory. The State Committee allowed Senator Arlen Specter—a Republican for 45 years conveniently turned Democrat—to speak at the dinner. But when I, a declared Democratic Senate candidate, hand delivered a letter requesting equal time to address the committee, my very fair entreaty was flatly denied.

As a life-long Democrat with a reputation for hard work and dedication to my duties in the state House of Representatives, I was very disappointed to see that loyalty and dedication completely ignored by the party leadership.

This action by party leaders is completely contrary to what rank-and-file Democrats have overwhelmingly been telling me as I travel the state. Voters reject the anointing of Specter by party leaders, as proven by a recent Susquehanna Poll that showed 62 percent of Democrats wanting to see a real Senate primary in 2010.

But apparently this message is falling on deaf ears with a party leadership clearly out of touch with the rank-and-file Democrats in Pennsylvania.

That tone-deafness was amplified when robo-calls to Allegheny County Democratic Committee members—asking them to meet Arlen Specter at a local union hall—clearly flopped. With a committee membership in the thousands, only a hand full showed up.

After the dinner in her honor turned so blatantly political, you have to wonder: What would Catherine think?

The writer, a state Representative in Allegheny County’s 38th District, is a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate.

It’s no secret that in state Representative Bill Kortz’s insurgent campaign for Senate, the biggest challenge is just getting people to listen.

Kortz, the Allegheny County Democrat who has made clear he won’t be stepping aside for Senator Arlen Specter, got his first national press victory today, in the form of a fawning profile in Congressional Quarterly.

Headlined “Meet the Democrat who Won’t Give Specter a Clear Field,” the piece recaps Kortz’ working-class background and his identity as a less conventional politician.

“I come from the working class,” Kortz says in the piece. “and the working class is what’s getting hammered right now, and it didn’t have to be. And that’s why I’m running—that’s the No. 1 reason.”

Whether other national publications will give Kortz a call remains to be seen. For now, score one for the “unpolitician.”

Previous articles in The Press Room:

Leak caught Torsella camp off guard

For the Specter campaign, loads of media but no spokesperson

And then there was Bill Kortz, standing off-stage, seeming almost like an anonymous observer in the crowd of rank-and-file Democrats at the party’s spring dinner here Monday evening.

This is Kortz’s life now. The state Representative from Allegheny County and proclaimed “unpolitician” is running for Senate. But as he’s discovering, few people know who he is. Kortz—”just an ordinary steel worker” in his words—was swept into office thanks to the 2005 outrage over legislative pay-raises. Today, he is competing for attention in a Democratic primary that was already high-profile before Senator Arlen Specter switched parties and turned it into a circus. In a field of well-known candidates, Kortz is undoubtedly the unknown.

And as he runs what he vowed will be a successful grassroots campaign, he acknowledged the obstacles to getting noticed amidst the noise.

“It’s going to take a lot of effort, period,” Kortz said.

He has already visited at least five counties, driving from place to place in the evenings before rushing back to Harrisburg at night so he can be in session the next day.

“It’s grassroots,” he said. “I’m talking to the people.”

The people clearly need to be introduced to him. Kortz claimed Brady wouldn’t let him speak at the spring dinner, asking simply “who are you?” And as he mulled around a crowd shaking hands with Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter Monday night, he told a woman nearby that he was running for Senate. “Oh really?” she asked.

As he continued to seek out folks to meet, the theme song from Rocky appropriately came over the speakers.

“That’s what I’m going to need,” he said with a smile. “I’m the underdog.”