Watkins dropping out of Lt. Gov. race

Joe Watkins was set to withdraw from the race for Lieutenant Governor Tuesday evening, 10 days after he failed the win the Republican State Committee’s endorsement for the office.

Watkins, who planned to notify state committee members of his decision of an e-mail, was seen by many as the only candidate who could run a viable campaign against the party’s endorsed candidate, Bucks County Commissioner Jim Cawley. In an interview with pa2010.com, he said it’s…

February 23, 2010 at 4:45 pm | Comments (11)

Beiler’s staying in Lt. Gov. race

Chet Beiler is staying put.

The former Lancaster GOP chairman told pa2010.com on Saturday that he’ll continue to run for Lieutenant Governor, despite not winning the state party’s endorsement earlier this month. His most immediate focus is getting on the ballot, a challenge compounded by the likelihood that Republican leaders will look for ballot signatures to challenge. Candidates need 1,000 signatures to get on the ballot, but some election lawyers recommend getting at least three…

February 20, 2010 at 7:58 pm | Comments (12)

It’s crunch time for Beiler and Watkins

Chet Beiler and Joe Watkins have to make a decision, and they don’t have much time.

Beiler, the former Lancaster County GOP chairman, and Watkins, the longtime political operative, both failed to win the state party’s endorsement for Lieutenant Governor last weekend in Harrisburg. Two other candidates who weren’t endorsed—York businessman Steve Johnson and reform leader Russ Diamond—both said they’d stay in the race anyway. Two others, Jean Craige Pepper and Nick DiFrancesco, stepped aside…

February 15, 2010 at 8:00 am | Comments (13)

Lt. Gov. hopefuls talk economy, helping Corbett

With a party endorsement less than 24 hours away, seven Republican candidates for Lieutenant Governor shared a stage Friday afternoon, airing mostly similar positions on issues from economic and tax policies to plans for reforming the state’s budget process.

The forum was the first event of the Republican State Committee meeting in Harrisburg, and served as the candidates’ last chance to court party insiders before a formal endorsement is made Saturday afternoon. Bucks County Commissioner…

February 12, 2010 at 3:14 pm | Comments (18)

Johnson’s raised more than $110K for Lt. Gov. race

Republican Steven Johnson raised almost $110,000 in 2009, according to campaign finance data, a solid amount for a Lieutenant Governor candidate staking his campaign on outsider credentials. Since then, Johnson has launched a populist

February 8, 2010 at 11:53 am | Comments (10)

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)

Watkins raised $100K

Republican Joe Watkins raised just over $100,000 toward his run for Lieutenant Governor last year, finishing the year with about half of that money still in the bank, according to new

February 4, 2010 at 12:17 pm | Comments (29)

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)