3 lessons learned and 3 questions raised in the 3rd quarter (Updated)

The numbers are in, digested and covered to death.

So with third quarter FEC reports squarely in the rear-view mirror, pa2010.com returns to the big picture. With that in mind, we offer up the most important lessons learned from the early fundraising hauls, along with the questions still to be answered.

LESSONS LEARNED:

1. Joe Sestak has work to do. The fact that the Democratic Senate hopeful full story

October 19, 2009 at 1:53 pm | Comments (14)

How Pat Meehan raked in some fast cash

In seeking to quickly demonstrate the political potency of his Congressional bid, former U.S. Attorney Pat Meehan tapped his extensive connections within the legal community, maxing out a large number of donors early as he took just 16 days to raise a sum that almost equaled what his likely Democratic opponent took several weeks to pile up.

Meehan, a Republican who had been planning to run for governor before opting for a House bid in…

October 18, 2009 at 8:53 pm | Comments (13)

House colleagues pitch in for Lentz

In raising more than $220,00 toward his Congressional bid last quarter, state Representative Bryan Lentz (D-Delaware) got some welcome help from his co-workers in the General Assembly, according to pLentz, who finished the quarter with almost the full fundraising haul still in the bank and has since raised another $30,000, by no means relied on his state House colleagues for the bulk of his campaign cash.…

October 15, 2009 at 3:24 pm | Comments (0)

When pols get sneaky with campaign finance numbers (Updated)

Ah, the preemptive campaign finance leak. In a fragmented, hour-to-hour media landscape, with campaigns looking for any narrative leg-up in the perception game, it’s becoming a new mainstay of political news as candidates look to convince whoever happens to be watching that they’re politically viable.

I won’t pretend that pa2010.com takes the bait less than anyone else here. If anything, we’ve been jumping through hoops this cycle to get early numbers out to what’s becoming…

October 13, 2009 at 8:35 pm | Comments (5)

Source: Meehan raised $200K in 16 days (Updated)

Former U.S. Attorney Pat Meehan raised more than $200,000 in just over two weeks after formally announcing his Congressional candidacy last month, a source close to the campaign told pa2010.com.

full story

October 6, 2009 at 12:32 pm | Comments (14)

Not so suddenly, Pa. becomes ground zero for competitive House races

First, Joe Sestak left his seat open to take on Arlen Specter. Then, Jim Gerlach said goodbye to his hard-to-defend seat to pOh, and there’s still those a href="http://www.pa2010.com/2009/08/for-dems-in-conservative-districts-2010-could-be-a-rough-ride/" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.pa2010.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pa2010.com%2F2009%2F08%2Ffor-dems-in-conservative-districts-2010-could-be-a-rough-ride%2F','freshman+and+sophomore+Democrats+who+have+to+defend+conservative+districts')" target="_blank">freshman and sophomore Democrats who have to defend…

October 6, 2009 at 9:33 am | Comments (1)

Lentz rolls out endorsements from local insiders

In a bid to show that the local Democratic establishment is firmly behind him, state Representative Bryan Lentz (D-Delaware) on Thursday announced endorsements from dozens of elected and party officials, ranging from borough mayors and council members to local party chairs and district school board members.

Taken together, Lentz, who is running for Congress in the 7th District, said the insiders backing him “form the backbone of our party.”

“It is truly an honor to…

October 1, 2009 at 11:11 am | Comments (7)

Lentz or Vitali? The question exposes a DelCo divide (Updated)

Ever since Congressman Joe Sestak (D-7) began signaling that he’d leave his House seat open in favor of a Senate run, Delaware County Democrats have been determined to hold onto a district it took them almost 20 years to win back. To that end, many have rallied around state Representative Bryan Lentz as the best candidate. But it seems that just as many have been prodding state Representative Greg Vitali to enter the race. And…

October 1, 2009 at 7:00 am | Comments (10)

More on the 6th and 7th

A couple of follow-ups to

October 1, 2009 at 2:30 am | Comments (0)

Always time for last-minute fundraising appeals

Time is money. And if every dollar counts, then every day counts, too.

And so it is that, with the FEC’s third-quarter reporting period closing Wednesday, candidates and elected officials have been sending out a flurry of fundraising pleas. Expect them to continue up until the midnight deadline on Wednesday.

“Our Republican opponents want to stop everything that the President wants to accomplish,” Democratic Congressional candidate Doug Pike wrote in an fundraising e-mail Tuesday. “They…

September 29, 2009 at 1:35 pm | Comments (1)