Hoeffel wins a straw poll

In a gubernatorial primary that some Democrats say is short on true progressives, Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Hoeffel might be the darling of that crowd.

That’s if you believe an admittedly “very unscientific” straw poll released by Keystone Progress Tuesday.

In the survey of over 1,000 progressive activists, Hoeffel, the former Congressman who is considering a run, won about 35 percent of the vote. State Auditor General Jack Wagner was in second with about 22 …

September 15, 2009 at 1:23 pm | Comments (22)

EXCLUSIVE: Hoeffel will poll the gubernatorial race

In the strongest indication yet that he is …

August 20, 2009 at 1:27 pm | Comments (13)

Is Onorato too conservative for the party, or just right for 2010?

As Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato pursues his party’s nomination for governor, he confronts a political challenge about which there may be little he can do: Rightly or wrongly, he is viewed by many progressive, southeast Democrats as too conservative to be the party’s standard-bearer in 2010.

It is this sentiment that has led more Democrats, like Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Hoeffel, to p“I believe there’s got to be southeastern Pennsylvania progressives in these state races in 2010,” Hoeffel told empa2010.com/em last month, not mentioning Onorato by name but clearly having the Democratic front-runner in mind./p
pOn the flip side is the argument that Democrats with a more socially-conservative bent are exactly what has led the party to expand its appeal on the local and national levels in recent election cycles. Senator Bob Casey in 2006 captured the seat long held by Republicans in part by appealing to independents and Republicans as a pro-life Democrat./p
p“I think for a statewide election, his policies are well positioned,” Muhlenberg College political scientist Chris Borick said of Onorato. “As we’ve seen with a candidate like Bob Casey, taking [social] issues away from Republicans in a general election is a good technique. Of course, he has to pass through the gates of a Democratic primary, where most voters are pro-choice and more inclined to seek gun-control efforts.”/p
pAnd any dissatisfaction with Onorato’s political ideology may be nullified by the fact that one of his main opponents, state Auditor General Jack Wagner, is considered just as conservative as Onorato, if not more so. On fiscal issues, he is very arguably to the right of Onorato, having publicly opposed the notorious drink-tax enacted by the county executive, as well as the personal income tax hike pushed this year by Gov. Ed Rendell./p
pIn a recent interview, Onorato said his stances on social issues were more personal than political, not the kind of views that would affect his governance./p
p“As a Roman Catholic, I am opposed to abortion,” he said. “As a governor, I would be in favor of continuing full funding for family planning. I don’t see that the current state law would ever change, and that issue is a non-issue.”/p
pHe said his support for gun rights was rooted in the ethos of western Pennsylvania, but that violence in his home base of Pittsburgh has made clear the need to find a middle ground between gun rights advocates and those advocating tighter controls./p
p“I come from an area where many of the Democrats own guns,” he said. “It’s part of the culture. But I also know we need comprehensive reform to deal with the crime issues we have in our city.”/p
pAnd he said efforts to paint him as outside the party’s mainstream ideology were both unfounded and a sign that his critics are already attacking him months before the primary./p
p“I wouldn’t concede any of those issues to anyone at this point in time,” Onorato said. “I think it’s interesting, this early on, that people are already launching negative attacks. People in Pennsylvania don’t want to see that.”/p
pRegardless, in a party where a significant majority of the votes come from the more liberal Philadelphia region, a large part of Onorato’s primary campaign could be devoted to assuaging progressives that he’s on their side./p
pAttacks from his left flank have already flared up. Leaders in the gay community a href="http://community.post-gazette.com/blogs/earlyreturns/archive/2009/07/16/onorato-vs-the-internet.aspx" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://community.post-gazette.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fcommunity.post-gazette.com%2Fblogs%2Fearlyreturns%2Farchive%2F2009%2F07%2F16%2Fonorato-vs-the-internet.aspx','accuse+him+of+being+a+%22follower%2C%22+not+a+leader%2C+on+issues+important+to+them.')" target="_blank"accuse him of being a “follower,” not a leader, on issues important to them./a And it’s not just social issues that put Onorato in the liberal cross hairs—a href="http://alleghenysc.org/?p=1313" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://alleghenysc.org']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Falleghenysc.org%2F%3Fp%3D1313','the+Sierra+Club+recently+hit+him')" target="_blank">the Sierra Club recently hit him for inaction on air quality measures.…

August 18, 2009 at 9:45 am | Comments (12)

For Wagner, the challenge could be in the raw politics

Jack Wagner has been winning elections for years, from his time as a Pittsburgh City Councilman and state Senator in the 1990s to his record-setting vote totals in last year’s reelection as state Auditor General. But throughout all his time in politics, Wagner has never had a reputation a heavy-hitting campaign fundraiser and organizer. And as he nears a bid for the Governor’s Mansion, political insiders increasingly wonder if Wagner will be able build the …

August 11, 2009 at 10:55 am | Comments (9)

Corbett leads Republicans in new guv poll and Dems in tight race; Rendell approval slips

Reflecting his strong name recognition from two statewide election victories, Attorney General Tom Corbett holds a significant lead over his Republican rivals in the race for governor, according to a new poll. But the Democratic primary is in a statistical dead heat, giving even more reason for other candidates to consider jumping into the contest.

The Quinnipiac University poll released today, which also gave lame-duck Gov. Ed Rendell his lowest apporval ratings to date, showed …

July 21, 2009 at 7:27 am | Comments (6)

More firmly now, Wagner says he’s running for governor

After carefully pIn a wide-ranging a href="http://kdka.com/politics/Jack.wagner.governor.2.1093568.html" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://kdka.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fkdka.com%2Fpolitics%2FJack.wagner.governor.2.1093568.html','interview+with+Pittsburgh%22s+KDKA-TV')" target="_blank"interview with Pittsburgh’s emKDKA-TV/em/a, Wagner, a Democrat, was asked if he’s running./p
p“Yes I am,” he said./p
pUsually in recent months, Wagner’s has been quick to add the caveat that he hasn’t yet declared his candidacy. Only 10 days earlier in a href="http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2009/07/jack_wagner_says_hes_running_f.html" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.pennlive.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pennlive.com%2Fmidstate%2Findex.ssf%2F2009%2F07%2Fjack_wagner_says_hes_running_f.html','another+interview')" target="_blank">another interview with KDKA, he made sure to note that he hadn’t yet “formally announced.”

Whether or not his recent interview amounts to an official declaration, it’s clear he’s no longer being as delicate about his political plans. He’s becoming increasingly vocal in offering his suggestions for resolving the intractable budget impasse in Harrisburg and in opposing Gov. Ed Rendell’s proposed personal income tax increase.

Asked why he’s running, Wagner said: “To …

July 20, 2009 at 7:20 pm | Comments (2)

EXCLUSIVE: Hoeffel considering gubernatorial bid

Five years after he gave up his Congressional seat in an unsuccessful run for Senate, Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Hoeffel is mulling a run for Governor, two Democrats who have spoken with him told pa2010.com.

Hoeffel would be the only elected official from the Philadelphia region in the Democratic primary—Tom Knox is from Philadelphia but doesn’t hold office—and his supporters say he would be a genuine progressive in a race that seems to be …

July 9, 2009 at 11:00 pm | Comments (11)

Five Democrats who could shake up the Governor’s race

For months, Democratic insiders have looked at their party’s field for Governor and asked: “Is this it?”

And that was before Lehigh County Executive Don Cunningham p“There’s got to be someone else who’s going to come up, right?” one Democratic consultant not involved in the race asked empa2010.com/em recently./p
pWith that in mind, we offer up a list of the five Democrats who could potentially turn next year’s primary upside down. An important caution: There’s little if any reason to believe that emany/em of these folks would even emconsider/em making a run for the Governor’s Mansion./p
pBut in the world where political blood sport equals priceless entertainment… we can hope.br /
strongbr /
5. Josh Shapiro/strong/p
pProbably the least likely on our list to even think of such a move right now, the Montgomery County state Representative is known to have ambitions for higher office and was stymied in his attempts to run for Senate when Arlen Specter switched parties. He’s being encouraged to a href="http://www.pa2010.com/2009/07/shapiro-may-run-for-lt-gov/" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.pa2010.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pa2010.com%2F2009%2F07%2Fshapiro-may-run-for-lt-gov%2F','run+for+Lieutenant+Governor')" target="_blank"run for Lieutenant Governor/a. But when you’re young, handsome and a tireless campaigner, why settle for second fiddle? Still, as he works to avoid alienating his fellow lawmakers during a contentious budget season, a run at the Governor’s Mansion is almost certainly the last thing on his mind./p
pstrong4. Chris Doherty/strong/p
pThe Scranton Mayor is emerging as a political powerhouse from a major population center that is increasingly important to winning statewide elections. He’s a href="http://www.pa2010.com/2009/05/after-an-electoral-sweep-doherty-eyes-higher-office/" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.pa2010.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pa2010.com%2F2009%2F05%2Fafter-an-electoral-sweep-doherty-eyes-higher-office%2F','flying+high')" target="_blank">flying high after winning the Democratic nomination for reelection while, in a rare and fascinating quirk, also winning the Republican nomination as a write-in. Yes, that means his name will be on both sides of the ballot this November. He’s also thinking of a run for Lt. Gov. But …

July 8, 2009 at 2:14 pm | Comments (16)

Onorato far outpacing Wagner in the money game

In their likely matchup for the gubernatorial votes in western Pennsylvania, Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato already has one huge advantage over his political rival, Auditor General Jack Wagner: money.

Onorato had pWhile much of Onorato’s war-chest was built from a 2007 reelection bid that cost very little, he continues to raise more than Wagner from month-to-month. Wagner raised a little over $10,000 in the month following this year’s primary, compared to almost $200,000 raised by Onorato, according to their campaign finance reports./p
pPhiladelphia businessman Tom Knox did not have to file a recent campaign finance report because he does not hold elected office. He had a a href="http://www.campaignfinance.state.pa.us/CFReport.aspx?CFReportID=67645&Section=Cover" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.campaignfinance.state.pa.us']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.campaignfinance.state.pa.us%2FCFReport.aspx%3FCFReportID%3D67645%26amp%3BSection%3DCover','minimal+sum')" target="_blank">minimal sum on hand at the end of last year, but is …

July 6, 2009 at 1:40 pm | Comments (5)

Cunningham out of Governor’s race

Lehigh County Executive Don Cunningham said Thursday that he would not run for governor in 2010, calling off a campaign that had barely started and leaving the small field of Democrats even smaller.

Cunningham, who faces reelection this year and had been slower than Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato in building a statewide political apparatus, said in a statement that “neither the time nor the circumstances are right for me at this time to take …

June 25, 2009 at 6:00 pm | Comments (12)