Aichele drops Lt. Gov. bid

Chester County Commissioner Carol Aichele said Sunday that she was ending her bid for Lieutenant Governor, taking a southeast candidate out of the picture just days before the state Republican Party meets to make a formal endorsement next weekend.

Aichele made her announcement in an e-mail to supporters late Sunday night. It came shortly after the completion of the GOP’s regional caucus straw votes, and was largely an acknowledgment that her sub-par showing in those…

February 7, 2010 at 11:36 pm | Comments (6)

Despite strong close by Watkins, Cawley finishes atop Lt. Gov. straw polls

With the GOP’s regional caucus straw votes completed, Bucks County Commissioner Jim Cawley appears to be going into next weekend’s Republican State Committee meeting as the odds-on-favorite to win the party’s endorsement for Lieutenant Governor.

Caucuses in northeast Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley region both met Saturday to cast their votes, which are not binding but serve as a barometer of where the statewide party will lean when it meets in Harrisburg to make a…

February 7, 2010 at 4:36 pm | Comments (7)

LEFTOVERS: Toomey hits Sestak on 9/11 trials, Aichele touts Bulletin article, another PA-3 hopeful

The debate over holding civilian trials for suspects in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks continued to eat up political oxygen Monday. Republican Senate candidate Pat Toomey criticized Congressman Joe Sestak (D-7) for apparently signaling that he’d be open to pToomey was quick to pounce, pointing out a slew of elected Democrats who have come out against the idea, including Senator Bob Casey, Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato and Congressman Jason Altmire (D-4)./p
p“I join leading Pennsylvania Republicans and Democrats alike in opposing trying Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in a civilian court in Pennsylvania,” Toomey said in a statement. “Moving the trial to Pennsylvania will impose huge security risks and costs on our state, in addition to the national security risks posed by trying an enemy combatant in a civilian court where we may be forced to disclose important intelligence information.”/p
pSestak’s primary opponent, Senator Arlen Specter, has also a href="http://kdka.com/politics/arlen.specter.911.2.1462486.html" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://kdka.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fkdka.com%2Fpolitics%2Farlen.specter.911.2.1462486.html','come+out+against+holding+the+trails+in+Pennsylvania')" target="_blank">come out against holding the trails in Pennsylvania. And

February 1, 2010 at 11:55 pm | Comments (1)

Cawley’s still up after two more Lt. Gov. straw votes

After two more straw polls of regional Republican leaders, Bucks County Commissioner Jim Cawley appears to be solidifying enough support to win the party’s endorsement for Lieutenant Governor at the state committee meeting less than two weeks from now.

Cawley did not win either of the regional caucus votes held Saturday in the southwest and northwest. Former Lancaster GOP leader Chet Beiler won the southwest caucus, while Jean Craige Pepper, a former candidate for state…

January 31, 2010 at 11:07 am | Comments (14)

Aichele claims massive edge in internal poll

Chester County Commissioner Carol Aichele released an internal poll memo Wednesday that showed her enjoying blowout-size approval ratings compared to her Republican rivals for Lieutenant Governor, but a review of the survey’s details makes it clear that the methodology was tilted in her favor.

The survey, conducted by the GOP firm Susquehanna Polling & Research on Aichele’s behalf, polled a wide swath of Republicans, Democrats and independents, in what was a bid by the Aichele…

January 27, 2010 at 11:10 pm | Comments (55)

Watkins decries southeast straw poll process

Republican Lieutenant Governor candidate Joe Watkins on Friday voiced dismay over the process by which southeast Republican leaders endorsed a candidate for the race, calling it dangerously undemocratic, especially in the wake of a Massachusetts special election that revealed a deep-seated, anti-establishment feeling among voters.

Watkins, in an interview and in a letter he said had been sent to GOP state committee members and county party chairs, was responding to full story

January 22, 2010 at 5:48 pm | Comments (17)

Aichele downplays recent southeast straw vote

Chester County Commissioner Carol Aichele on Wednesday sought to play down the results of a

January 20, 2010 at 12:10 pm | Comments (19)

Southeast leaders endorse Cawley; setback for Aichele (Updated)

Republican Party leaders in southeast Pennsylvania gave Bucks County Commissioner Jim Cawley’s campaign for Lieutenant Governor a significant boost Wednesday, endorsing him in a non-binding straw vote over Chester County Commissioner Carol Aichele.

The support of the party’s southeast caucus amounted to a coup for Cawley and a setback for Aichele. The two county commissioners and GOP operative Joe Watkins pExact results of the straw poll were not released, but the caucus said that Cawley had received a “solid majority” of the vote and that Aichele was the only other candidate to garner any votes. Caucus chairman Michael Meehan could not immediately be reached for comment, but he a href="http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/news_details/article/92/2010/january/13/cawleys-lieutenant-governor-prospects-rising.html" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.phillyburbs.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.phillyburbs.com%2Fnews%2Fnews_details%2Farticle%2F92%2F2010%2Fjanuary%2F13%2Fcawleys-lieutenant-governor-prospects-rising.html','The+Bucks+County+Courier+Times')" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.phillyburbs.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.phillyburbs.com%2Fnews%2Fnews_details%2Farticle%2F92%2F2010%2Fjanuary%2F13%2Fcawleys-lieutenant-governor-prospects-rising.html','told')" target="_blank">told

ANALYSIS: Gerlach’s exit simplifies Lt. Gov. primary

In many ways, the Republican primary for Lieutenant Governor has only one voter that matters: Tom Corbett.

Jim Gerlach’s exit from the gubernatorial race last week made Corbett, the state Attorney General, the GOP’s presumptive nominee. And with that, the contest to join Corbett on a party ticket has become much simpler to understand. Before, Corbett faced a genuinely competitive primary and had every reason to wait and watch while those vying to be his…

Schweiker to endorse Corbett-Cawley ticket

Former Gov. Mark Schweiker is endorsing a Republican gubernatorial ticket of Tom Corbett and Jim Cawley, giving Cawley a boost in his bid to win the party’s nomination for Lieutenant Governor.

Schweiker’s endorsement, delivered in a letter obtained by pa2010.com, is expected to be made public by Cawley’s campaign this week. While much of the GOP political establishment is already backing Corbett, Schweiker’s letter serves as more of an endorsement for Cawley, a Bucks County…