EXCLUSIVE: Wagner starts buying airtime

Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Jack Wagner is ready to take what limited campaign cash he has to the airwaves, and his campaign started buying TV time this week, pa2010.com has learned.

Wagner, the state auditor general, will be on the airwaves by May 3 at the latest, but one campaign source said his first TV spots may start airing as early as Wednesday or Thursday. A pa2010.com reporter was at an NBC affiliate in Johnstown right…

April 28, 2010 at 2:10 pm | Comments (24)

LEFTOVERS: The party-switch anniversary, more guv endorsements, Dahlkemper targeted

Wednesday is the one-year anniversary of Senator Arlen Specter’s defection to the Democrats, and his opponents were laying the groundwork Tuesday for their own brands of celebration. Primary opponent Joe Sestak will be giving what his campaign is billing as a “major speech” in Washington. And while the “news peg” is clearly Specter’s party-switch, the campaign said Sestak will also “set the record straight on his 31-year record of distinguished service in the Navy,” a…

April 27, 2010 at 9:49 pm | Comments (4)

LEFTOVERS: Endorsements for Onorato, Wagner, Saidel and Marino

There were a handful of endorsements up and down the ballot on Monday.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dan Onorato got the backing of Dauphin County Commissioner George Hartwick during a news conference inside the Capitol in Harrisburg. “I am pleased to endorse Dan Onorato, someone who has the experience of reviving local communities and a clear record of leadership, particularly on public safety issues,” Hartwick said in a statement. “Dan has revived Allegheny County and I…

April 27, 2010 at 12:43 am | Comments (7)

Lehigh Valley officials endorse Wagner

Elected and party officials from the Lehigh Valley endorsed Democrat Jack Wagner for governor on Thursday, giving the state auditor general still more organizational support less than a month before the primary.

State Representative Jennifer Mann was among 11 people backing Wagner. She said his long record of public service “gives him an unmatched understanding of government at all levels.”

“He has served with integrity in a bipartisan manner,” Mann said in a statement. “Jack…

April 23, 2010 at 11:04 am | Comments (0)

Corbett still leads Dems, as Onorato gains ground

Attorney General Tom Corbett still holds a comfortable edge over his potential Democratic rivals for governor, and Democrat Dan Onorato appears to be slowly but surely pulling ahead of his primary opponents, according to a new poll.

pIn the poll, Corbett leads Wagner by 21 points, 48 percent to 27 percent. And Corbett holds a 20-point edge over Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Hoeffel, 49 percent to 29 percent. State Senator Anthony Williams (D-Philadelphia), the only candidate besides Onorato who is airing TV ads, was not included in the poll./p
pRasmussen’s was the third recent poll that seemed to show Onorato enjoying increased name recognition from a statewide adverting blitz that began a few weeks ago. A a href="http://www.pa2010.com/2010/04/gop-poll-shows-onorato-building-a-lead/" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.pa2010.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pa2010.com%2F2010%2F04%2Fgop-poll-shows-onorato-building-a-lead%2F','Susquehanna+Polling+%26amp%3B+Research+survey+last+week+showed+the+Allegheny+County+Executive+surging+to+32+percent+of+the+primary+vote')" target="_blank"Susquehanna Polling & Research survey last week showed the Allegheny County Executive surging to 32 percent of the primary vote/a, and a href="http://www.pa2010.com/2010/04/corbett-leads-dem-contenders-by-double-digits/" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.pa2010.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pa2010.com%2F2010%2F04%2Fcorbett-leads-dem-contenders-by-double-digits%2F','a+Quinnipiac+University+poll+two+weeks+ago+showed+Onorato%22s+name+recognition+on+the+rise.')" target="_blank">a Quinnipiac University poll two weeks ago showed Onorato’s name recognition on the rise. Rasmussen showed Corbett topping Onorato by a two-to-one margin in February. In the latest survey, fewer Democrats are unsure about their impression of Onorato…

April 20, 2010 at 11:31 am | Comments (8)

Hoeffel pounces on a pro-life group’s Onorato claim

Democrat Joe Hoeffel this this week seized upon a news report that gubernatorial rival Dan Onorato was sending a campaign aide to an event sponsored by an organization that opposes abortion rights—a news report that was quickly struck down by the Onorato campaign but nonetheless underscored the challenge Onorato has faced in explaining his stance on abortion rights.

The hit from the Hoeffel campaign was prompted by an article in the The York Dispatch, which…

April 20, 2010 at 8:15 am | Comments (6)

LEFTOVERS: Dog lovers for Wagner, black clergy for Specter, RLC for Diamond, Murphy’s money

There were a few statewide endorsements that slipped by us recently.

Auditor Jack Wagner’s gubernatorial candidacy was backed by the Pennsylvania League of Humane Voters. The endorsement, announced Monday, was apparently given during a news conference Saturday in Lancaster. “The Pennsylvania chapter’s endorsement is based on Jack Wagner’s love for animals and his respect for our work,” the group said in a statement. “We also appreciate his support for several of our key issues, including…

April 19, 2010 at 11:45 pm | Comments (0)

Wagner says he’ll air TV ads, but how much can he afford?

PITTSBURGH—For months, Auditor General Jack Wagner has said he’ll have enough money to be competitive in the Democratic primary for governor. But seven weeks before the big day, his campaign had less than $700,000 in the bank, an amount that makes a sustained statewide advertising blitz almost impossible.

Now, five weeks before primary day, Wagner says a plan is in place to run TV ads across Pennsylvania, but he’s not saying how much he expects…

April 15, 2010 at 7:30 pm | Comments (15)

GOP poll shows Onorato building a lead

A recent statewide advertising blitz by Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato is apparently beginning to work, with the gubernatorial hopeful opening up a lead over his Democratic primary rivals, according to a new poll.

The survey, released Wednesday by the GOP firm Susquehanna Polling & Research, found Onorato garnering 32 percent of the vote, by far his best showing of the race. He is followed by Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Hoeffel with 13 percent, Auditor…

April 14, 2010 at 3:28 pm | Comments (4)

Wagner looks to showcase union support

PITTSBURGH—Auditor General Jack Wagner rolled out a slew of union endorsements on Tuesday, seeking to demonstrate his support within the organized labor community even as the state’s largest umbrella labor group did not make an endorsement in the Democratic primary for governor.

About 35 members from six local unions stood behind Wagner in the lobby of the David L. Lawrence Convention Center here, where the AFL-CIO was holding its state convention.

April 13, 2010 at 5:15 pm | Comments (1)