In latest Rothfus ad, kids talk allowance and debt

The latest ad from Republican Keith Rothfus is a quirky, 30-second spot in which children complain that their weekly allowances can’t possibly pay down the growing federal debt.

“Jason Altmire must think I’m made of money,” one kid says in the ad.

Another says “we’re $13 trillion in debt,” before another finally laments, “my allowance can’t cover that.”

The race between Rothfus and Altmire is currently No. 9 on the pa2010.com

October 5, 2010 at 3:21 pm | Comments (15)

LEFTOVERS: Specter and Sestak, Brown for Toomey, Club for Rothfus

As everyone knows, pA pool reporter caught up with Specter at Philadelphia International Airport, where the lame-duck senator was meeting Obama. The reporter asked how he thinks Sestak is doing, a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0910/42473.html" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.politico.com']);return…

September 21, 2010 at 5:00 pm | Comments (8)

Rothfus takes to TV with fiscal message

Six weeks before Election Day, Republican Keith Rothfus has taken his campaign against Congressman Jason Altmire (D-4) to the airwaves.

Rothfus’ first TV ad started airing Tuesday. A candidate who has turned heads with his fundraising ability after knocking off former U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan in the primary, he’s on the air earlier than Altmire was when he unseated Republican Melissa Hart in 2006. Altmire still enjoys a strong financial advantage, and has already…

September 21, 2010 at 10:52 am | Comments (9)

Altmire on the football field

The latest TV ad from Congressman Jason Altmire (D-4) features the sophomore huddling with constituents on a football field opining on his votes and his political philosophy.

“There are a lot of people in Washington that aren’t happy with me right now,” Altmire says in the 30-second spot, which began airing earlier this week. “But my job is to do what’s right for folks here.”

Altmire, who faces Republican Keith Rothfus in his bid for…

September 17, 2010 at 3:30 pm | Comments (4)

LEFTOVERS: Rothenberg on the Senate race, Pence raises cash for Rothfus

The Senate race is starting to move in the GOP’s favor. At least that’s what political forecaster extraordinaire Stu Rothenberg says.

His Rothenberg Political Report has changed its forecast for the race between Democrat Joe Sestak and Republican Pat Toomey from “ pRothenberg made the same change to his forecast in the 3rd Congressional District, where he sees Republican Mike Kelly taking a slight edge against Congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper (D-3)./p
pAnd while we were busy scrambling a reporter to cover a href="http://www.pa2010.com/2010/09/sestak-frames-an-economic-debate-against-toomey/" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.pa2010.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pa2010.com%2F2010%2F09%2Fsestak-frames-an-economic-debate-against-toomey%2F','Democrat+Joe+Sestak%22s+big+speech+in+Pittsburgh+Tuesday+morning')" target="_blank"Democrat Joe Sestak’s big speech in Pittsburgh Tuesday morning/a, Republican Keith Rothfus was getting together with Congressman Mike Pence (R-Ind.) at Station Square. Pence, the chairman of the House Republican Conference, headlined a fundraiser for Rothfus, who’s taking on Democratic incumbent Jason Altmire in the 4th District./p
pThis event came just as Altmire’s campaign was e-mailing reporters a href="http://www.pa2010.com/2010/09/altmire-poll-memo-claims-huge-lead/" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.pa2010.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pa2010.com%2F2010%2F09%2Faltmire-poll-memo-claims-huge-lead%2F','a+poll+memo+that+claims+a+huge+lead+for+the+congressman')" target="_blank">a poll memo that claims a huge lead for the congressman. But our friends at

September 7, 2010 at 3:41 pm | Comments (1)

Altmire poll memo claims huge lead

Congressman Jason Altmire (D-4) is entering the homestretch before Election Day with high approval ratings and a commanding lead over Republican opponent Keith Rothfus, according to an internal poll memo.

The poll memo, released by Altmire’s campaign Tuesday, claims that Altmire holds a 27-point advantage over the Edgeworth attorney, 51 percent to 24 percent. The poll memo, based on a survey of 400 likely voters conducted by the firm Anzalone Liszt Research, also claims that…

September 7, 2010 at 10:53 am | Comments (13)

Rothfus says Altmire’s mosque opposition just posturing

If there’s one thing on which Congressman Jason Altmire (D-4) and Republican opponent Keith Rothfus agree, it’s that an Islamic community center shouldn’t be built two blocks from ground zero in New York.

But their agreement ends there, and Rothfus says Altmire is just playing politics—albeit with a subject that has become a political rallying cry for candidates across the ideological spectrum.

“He saw this as an opportunity to step away from the president, rather…

August 24, 2010 at 11:43 am | Comments (7)

Altmire hits the airwaves (Updated)

Congressman Jason Altmire (D-4) was set to take his campaign for a third term to the airwaves on Tuesday.

Altmire is starting with an ad buy on cable television, according to someone familiar with the buy. The precise size of the buy remains unclear. The 30-second spot, embedded at bottom, depicts the sophomore as an independent willing to buck his party, noting his votes against health care reform and the financial bailouts.

His first air…

August 24, 2010 at 11:35 am | Comments (2)

Republicans just fine with Altmire silence

Congressman Jason Altmire (D-4) hasn’t held any public campaign events since the May primary, pThe National Republican Congressional Committee is hoping that Altmire’s Ignore-Keith-Rothfus strategy will backfire./p
p“A similar thing happened in 2006,” Brock McCleary, an NRCC political…

August 12, 2010 at 10:32 am | Comments (1)

Rothfus makes a volunteer-fueled ground blitz

BEAVER FALLS—As he continues to raise money toward his bid for a third term this fall, Congressman Jason Altmire (D-4) has kept a relatively low profile, with public events few and far between. So Republican opponent Keith Rothfus is seizing on the opportunity to undertake something of a blitz of on-the-ground, retail campaigning, as the conservative insurgent continues to rely heavily on volunteers for his underdog race against Altmire.

That strategy—heavily reliant on a lean…

August 5, 2010 at 7:59 am | Comments (5)