Dueling radio ads in the 15th District

The race in the 15th Congressional District is heating up, as both parties take to the air to fight for a seat that Democrats are determined to capture and Republicans are looking to hold.

The National Republican Congressional Committee went up with a radio-ad styled as a “Night Before Christmas” poem about 2002.

The ad starts: “Twas two nights before Christmas, when in Bethlehem, John Callahan was voting, again and again. An increase he supported,…

December 15, 2009 at 2:30 pm | Comments (3)

Dent: Callahan is ‘our target’

NEW YORK—Democrats have made no secret of their burning desire to unseat Congressman Charlie Dent (R-15), with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee signaling that the Lehigh Valley representative is one of their top targets. They even brought in the White House to prod Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan into the race.

But Dent says he’s ready.

“I look forward ot this challenge against Mayor Callahan, who has a record that’s easily exploitable,” Dent told pa2010.com during…

December 12, 2009 at 9:54 pm | Comments (7)

3 lessons learned and 3 questions raised in the 3rd quarter (Updated)

The numbers are in, digested and covered to death.

So with third quarter FEC reports squarely in the rear-view mirror, pa2010.com returns to the big picture. With that in mind, we offer up the most important lessons learned from the early fundraising hauls, along with the questions still to be answered.

LESSONS LEARNED:

1. Joe Sestak has work to do. The fact that the Democratic Senate hopeful full story

October 19, 2009 at 1:53 pm | Comments (14)

Callahan outraised Dent in 3Q

This is what Democrats were hoping for.

Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan, widely considered the best candidate the party has ever recruited to take on Congressman Charlie Dent (R-15), outraised his incumbent opponent in the third quarter, turning in what was arguably the best fundraising performance of any House challenger in the state.

Callahan raised about $346,000 in the three-month period that ended Sept. 30, his first quarter in the race, according to

October 18, 2009 at 1:02 am | Comments (2)

Callahan camp says it raised $345K

Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan appears to have stormed out of the gate in his bid to unseat Congressman Charlie Dent (R-15), with his campaign saying Wednesday that it had racked up about $345,000 since he entered the race in July.

Callahan is widely considered the strongest Democrat to take on Dent so far, and his early fundraising totals would seem to solidify that perception. The campaign said it had about $325,000 on hand at the…

October 14, 2009 at 11:59 am | Comments (3)

Dent on GOP’s list of vulnerable incumbents

Congressman Charlie Dent (R-15) is on the National Republican Congressional Committee’s list of five vulnerable incumbents who will benefit from its coming “Patriot Day” fundraiser,

October 8, 2009 at 12:21 pm | Comments (4)

Not so suddenly, Pa. becomes ground zero for competitive House races

First, Joe Sestak left his seat open to take on Arlen Specter. Then, Jim Gerlach said goodbye to his hard-to-defend seat to pOh, and there’s still those a href="http://www.pa2010.com/2009/08/for-dems-in-conservative-districts-2010-could-be-a-rough-ride/" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.pa2010.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pa2010.com%2F2009%2F08%2Ffor-dems-in-conservative-districts-2010-could-be-a-rough-ride%2F','freshman+and+sophomore+Democrats+who+have+to+defend+conservative+districts')" target="_blank">freshman and sophomore Democrats who have to defend…

October 6, 2009 at 9:33 am | Comments (1)

Callahan’s track record should trump Republican smear tactics

Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan will be a major force in the upcoming Congressional elections, which he is now definitely entering. Callahan’s announcement that he will be running for the 15th Congressional District seat brings relief to a host of Democrats who have urged Callahan to run for Congress, including Vice-President Joe Biden, who reportedly courted Callahan in late June.

Callahan will be running against Republican Charlie Dent, who was elected to Congress in 2004. Callahan says…

July 30, 2009 at 1:53 pm | Comments (1)

Report: Callahan will take on Dent in PA-15

Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan has decided to run against Congressman Charlie Dent (R-15), in what could turn into one of the most competitive House races in the state and stiffer challenge than Dent has seen to date, The Morning Call reports.

Citing anonymous sources, the newspaper reported that

July 22, 2009 at 7:27 am | Comments (0)

Dent raised almost $200K in 2Q

As Democrats try to recruit someone ot run against Congressman Charlie Dent (R-15), they might want to consider the pace at which the incumbent is raising money.

The Lehigh Valley Congressman brought in more than $195,000 over the last three months, finishing the second quarter with more than $337,000 in cash on hand, according to campaign finance data.

National Democrats have been trying to

July 15, 2009 at 11:03 am | Comments (0)