Dent up 11 points in new poll

Congressman Charlie Dent (R-15) is entering the height of campaign season with a plurality of support and a dwindling number of Lehigh Valley voters who are still undecided as to whether he deserves a fourth term, according to a new poll.

The Morning Call/Muhlenberg College survey published over the weekend found Dent garnering 49 percent of the vote in the 15th District, compared to 38 percent for Democratic challenger John Callahan. Independent candidate Jake Towne…

September 20, 2010 at 8:00 am | Comments (3)

AD WATCH: Landing punches in the 15th

Both Republican incumbent Charlie Dent and Democratic challenger John Callahan used their first TV ads of the 15th Congressional District campaign to go directly at each other.

Callahan’s first ad depicts Dent as a friend of Wall Street over Main Street, a familiar message this year. Dent’s first spot hits Callahan for having supported property tax increases and pushing a sales tax increase. Both commercials omit information to paint a more simplistic picture than actually…

September 17, 2010 at 12:37 pm | Comments (0)

LEFTOVERS: Sestak’s hit site, an Onorato video, Callahan raises cash with mayors

Election Day is nearing, and the campaign hit sites are proliferating.

The latest comes from Democrat Joe Sestak’s Senate campaign, which on Monday unveiled full story

September 16, 2010 at 4:23 pm | Comments (0)

Callahan’s first ad takes a Wall Street vs. Main Street tack

Democrat John Callahan’s first TV ad of the campaign season frames his contest against Congressman Charlie Dent (R-15) as a populist battle of Main Street taking on Wall Street.

Callahan’s campaign released the ad Friday afternoon, after

September 3, 2010 at 2:23 pm | Comments (0)

Dent starts TV, radio campaign

Just less than two months before Election Day, Congressman Charlie Dent (R-15) is taking to TV and radio airwaves with an argument against Democratic challenger John Callahan.

Dent’s campaign began airing its first spots Friday morning, both of which hit Callahan on the subject of property taxes. The first TV spot is airing on both cable and broadcast networks in the Lehigh Valley district. Callahan, who has kept pace with the incumbent’s fundraising, also full story

September 3, 2010 at 12:15 pm | Comments (2)

Callahan: Bad year for incumbents, not Dems

It’s conventional wisdom that Democrat John Callahan would have had a much better shot at unseating Congressman Charlie Dent (R-15) had he run during one of his party’s wave years in 2006 or 2008.

But Callahan says he’s not worried about running against the political tide.

“I don’t know that it’s a bad year for Democrats, I think it’s a bad year for incumbents,” Callahan said in

September 2, 2010 at 12:15 pm | Comments (2)

EXCLUSIVE: Callahan hitting the airwaves

Democrat John Callahan has made this election season’s first TV advertising buy in the 15th Congressional District, and will be on the air in the Lehigh Valley as early as Thursday morning, a Democratic insider told pa2010.com.

Callahan, the Bethlehem mayor and White House recruit, has been a fundraising star for the Democratic Party as he seeks to unseat Congressman Charlie Dent (R-15). He has kept the money race against the incumbent close, allowing him…

September 1, 2010 at 4:50 pm | Comments (2)

Callahan talks jobs

Bethlehem mayor and Democratic congressional hopeful John Callahan rolled out his jobs agenda this week, a five-point plan that tracks closely with ideas circulated by some of the moderates in his party.

Callahan’s jobs plan, unveiled at a news conference in Bethlehem and during an interview with pa2010.com, centers on eliminating tax incentives for companies to outsource jobs overseas; enacting small business tax cuts; increasing financial aid for higher education; cutting “wasteful” spending; and streamlining…

September 1, 2010 at 3:35 pm | Comments (0)

Callahan talks education, boasts teachers’ support

ALLENTOWN— Joined by 40 teachers representing area school districts, Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan unveiled his education plan and accepted the endorsement of a major teachers’ union Wednesday, as his congressional campaign continued to hit incumbent Congressman Charlie Dent (R-15) for his votes in Washington.

“[Callahan] is proof of what a good public school education and a good early education program like Head Start can do for a kid that comes from a less than ideal…

August 27, 2010 at 7:00 am | Comments (1)

Dent targets Callahan on Bethlehem debt, taxes

ALLENTOWN—Congressman Charlie Dent (R-15) laced into his Democratic opponent’s mayoral record Wednesday, looking to draw attention to a budget deficit down the road in Bethlehem.

Holding court with reporters in front of his campaign headquarters here, Dent launched his most direct, sustained attack to date against Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan, the White House recruit challenging him in the Lehigh Valley district. Over the course of 35 minutes, he excoriated Callahan for what he called mismanagement…

August 26, 2010 at 9:00 am | Comments (2)