The party’s candidates for senate, governor and lieutenant governor all ended their bids to stay on the ballot Wednesday, succumbing to legal challenges spearheaded by the state GOP. Coupled with the withdrawal of a Green Party candidate for senate and another candidate for governor, the latest exits mean there will be no third-party candidates on the statewide ballot in November.

Senate hopeful Douglas Jamison, gubernatorial candidate Marakay Rogers and lieutenant governor aspirant Kat Valleley all conceded that they didn’t have enough valid signatures to gain ballot access, their lawyer told The Associated Press.

Douglas Jamison, an engineer, filed enough signatures to run on the Libertarian Party ticket. On his campaign Web site, Jamison says that senators today are “an agent to their own party and the special interest groups that got them elected.”

And Mel Packer, a physician’s assistant from Pittsburgh, filed enough signatures to run on the Green Party ticket. Packer was initially rejected outright by the Department of State for not having enough signatures, but later returned with more nominating petitions in hand.

Both candidates will remain on the ballot unless a successful challenge is filed against them. To gain ballot access as an independent or third-party candidate, candidates need to file more than 19,000 signatures—about two percent of the total votes won by Judy Olson, the highest vote-getter in the 2009 general election.

Candidates still had until the close of business to file their nominating petitions. As of late Monday afternoon, Libertarian candidate Marakay Rogers had filed to run for governor, while Libertarian Kat Valleley had filed to run for lieutenant governor.

UPDATED: Final filing information from the Department of State indicates that John Krupa also filed to run for governor as a Tea Party candidate.

Meanwhile, Bart Stupak—the retiring congressman and namesake of the so-called Stupak amendment to the health care reform law—is helping out the pro-life Democrats who stuck with him during his crusade to prevent the overhaul law from providing federal funds for abortion. Politico reports that Congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper (D-3) got some of the money Stupak has been doling out.

And the state’s big public employee union endorsed its slate of statewide candidates on Tuesday. Not so surprisingly, the public sector is casting its lot with the Democrats, backing Sestak for Senate, Onorato for governor and Scott Conklin for Lieutenant Governor. Council 13 of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees represents more than 65,000 government employees in Pennsylvania.

Speaking of felled Democrats, Jonathan Saidel couldn’t win his party’s primary for Lieutenant Governor, but he got something of a plum party gig Thursday. The state Democratic Party announced that Saidel, a former Philadelphia City Controller, would head a transition team as newly-elected party chair Jim Burn takes the reins. Saidel’s team, the party said, will be “evaluating all aspects the State Democratic Party operations,” including staffing and fundraising. “Jonathan Saidel has an undisputed reputation as an innovative manager with the ability to maximize an organization’s efficiency by conducting a thorough analysis and applying out-of-the-box thinking,” Burn said in a statement.

And lastly, we’re hearing that our friends at the Cook Political Report are about to change their forecast in the 11th Congressional District. The ultimate handicappers will be changing their ranking from leans Democratic to a toss-up. Incumbent Congressman Paul Kanjorski (D-11) faces Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta for the third time in eight years. The race is currently No. 3 on the pa2010.com Congressional Power Rankings. In its latest dispatch, to be published Friday, Cook will take note of the fact that Kanjorski won less than 50 percent of the vote in last month’s primary, saying that “anytime an incumbent falls below 50 percent of the vote in a primary, it’s a serious sign of danger.”

“Scott Conklin became a state Representative because he was disgusted with the Harrisburg culture after the infamous legislative pay grab,” Onorato said in a statement Wednesday. “Just as I took on an entrenched incumbent to become County Executive, Scott earned his seat by demanding reform and winning a ‘safe’ Republican seat.”

Conklin won an upset victory over former Philadelphia City Controller Jonathan Saidel in the primary for Lieutenant Governor. The margin was close enough for a recount, but Saidel conceded Wednesday. Democrats now have a decidedly conservative ticket—at least by party standards—to go up against Republicans Tom Corbett and Jim Cawley in the fall.

“I’m excited to have Scott joining me on the Democratic ticket this fall because together we can make reform a reality in Harrisburg—just as I’ve done in Allegheny County,” Onorato said.

Saidel is trailing state Representative Scott Conklin (D-Centre) by less than 4,000 votes, a margin of less than one-half percent of the vote, slim enough to mandate an automatic recount unless Saidel requests one not be done. The Department of State said Wednesday that it was granting an extension for Saidel to decide whether or not he wanted a recount, but after half of the remaining provisional ballots were counted, Saidel saw little if any possibility for victory in a recount.

“Jonathan Saidel has spent a lifetime saving taxpayers money and has determined that the estimated $500,000 a recount will cost the state is not justifiable given the significant odds against a successful conclusion from our perspective,” his campaign said in a statement. “Jonathan has instructed his legal team to prepare notification to the Secretary of State of his request not to proceed with the automatic recount.”

Conklin will now join Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato on the party’s gubernatorial ticket.

“On behalf of Jonathan Saidel and our entire campaign team, we want to thank the voters of Pennsylvania for giving us the opportunity to participate in this great democratic process,” Saidel’s campaign said. “Jonathan remains deeply committed to serving our Commonwealth and electing a Democratic governor in 2010.”

The Pennsylvania Department of State said Tuesday that returns from counties across the state had been submitted and tallied, and the most recent count still shows state Representative Scott Conklin (D-Centre) holding a slim lead over former Philadelphia City Controller Jonathan Saidel. But at just 3,862 votes, Conklin’s edge equals less than one-half a percent of the total vote, narrow enough for an automatic recount under state law.

A recount has not yet officially been ordered by the Secretary of State, but it’s likely that only a request from Saidel to forgo a recount would head off such action. After a disappointing election night that Saidel and his supporters had expected to win easily, his campaign has held out hope, saying it believes there are still provisional ballots to be counted.

Saidel reiterated that sentiment in a statement Wednesday morning.

“I have maintained since election night that before taking a position on proceeding with a recount, the first count needed to be completed with all votes being counted and tallied properly,” Saidel said. “It is my understanding that nearly 4,000 absentee and provisional ballots have yet to be counted, the majority of them from the greater Philadelphia area. State law provides for an automatic recount to ensure that Pennsylvania elections respect the highest principles of our democracy. In that spirit, and out of respect to the hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians who placed their trust in me this election, I believe a recount is in the best interest of our political system and we look forward to participating in the process as it moves forward.”

Meanwhile, Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele says Critz shouldn’t get too comfortable. Despite the fact that his party took a beating in the special election, Steele says wealthy businessman Tim Burns will prevail in his November rematch against Critz. Steele blamed the fact that Democrats had higher turnout because of their competitive statewide primaries. “In November, we’ll get that seat back because, guess what, independent conservatives get to play then and that will be a very different race,” Steele Sunday during “This Week” on ABC (see video below).

And lastly, there’s one thing that sat in the pa2010.com Central inbox for far too long: the mysterious robo-call that targeted Jonathan Saidel in the hours before he suffered what looks like a devastating loss in the Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor. Saidel may still get a recount against state Representative Scott Conklin (D-Centre), and most of the blame for how things turned out has to fall on his campaign. But one factor, however small, may have been the robo-call. Phones in Philadelphia received the robo-call, in which a woman who says she’s backing Doris Smith-Ribner in the race asks if “Saidel is running for controller or for grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.”

That’s a reference to a brief controversy from the early 1990s, when Saidel said he opposed school busing plans to send children to “parts of the city that look like East Beirut.” Shortly after, then-City Councilman Michael Nutter said he thought Saidel was “running for city controller, not grand wizard.” It remains unclear who put out the robo-call, and Smith-Ribner has said she had nothing to do with it. But the Saidel campaign wasn’t happy.

“To suggest that Jonathan Saidel, of Jewish heritage and a champion of civil rights for his whole career, has anything to do with the KKK is disgusting,” campaign spokesman Marty Marks told The Daily News. “It’s politics at its worst.”

Listen to partial audio of the call here.

Conklin, a state Representative from Centre County, was widely seen as the underdog against former Philadelphia City Controller Jonathan Saidel, who had exponentially more campaign cash, as well as overwhelming support from party and labor leaders. But as Tuesday night turned to Wednesday morning, it seemed increasingly likely that Conklin had pulled out a win. He led by fewer than 4,400 votes, and while Saidel’s campaign was hoping that votes from still-to-be-counted precincts in Philadelphia would narrow the margin enough for a recount, Conklin told pa2010.com that those precincts mostly represented voting machines that went unused because of the light turnout.

“It’s a very good day,” Conklin said in a phone interview Wednesday evening. “We’re expecting those numbers to stay intact, the question is just whether we’re over or under” the half-percent margin that triggers a recount.

Saidel had not conceded, issuing a subdued statement Wednesday afternoon in which he expressed hope for a recount. And Conklin, who had yet to speak with Saidel, said he would wait to formally declare victory until the votes were certified next week. But he was both optimistic and jubilant. Conklin said he would form a potent ticket with gubernatorial nominee Dan Onorato.

“My victory goes to the folks who helped me,” he said, “because we didn’t have the money and we were working against the entire party structure.”

Saidel was the party’s endorsed candidate, and a full picture of what went wrong was still emerging late Wednesday. Low turnout in Philadelphia hurt him from the start, a dynamic exacerbated by the fact that retired Commonwealth Court Judge Doris Smith-Ribner had a strong showing in the city, cutting into Saidel’s margins. Endorsements from The Inquirer and The Post-Gazette could have played a significant role in a race that voters rarely consider with much scrutiny. The Saidel campaign never took Conklin seriously, openly mocking his viability in e-mail exchanges. And Capitolwire (subscription only) reported that Saidel allies were faulting him for not spending $450,000 than was left in his war chest.

“We did what we could the way we knew how to do it best, and we were able to get the numbers we needed in central Pennsylvania and out in the west, while getting enough from our friends in Philadelphia to pull off the victory,” Conklin said.

“This just proves that your vote really does matter,” Conklin. “It proves it’s not about money, it’s about people, and that’s why we do what we do.”

With Onorato hailing from the western part of the state, Senate nominee Joe Sestak from the southeast and Conklin from mid-sate, Conklin said that would form the basis for a solid ticket.

“I believe we have a great balanced ticket … and I believe it’s going to bring a good dynamic to Pennsylvania this fall,” he said.

Conklin also clarified a recent news report that quoted him saying he would keep his state House job if he’s elected as Lt. Gov. in the fall, saying he would only hold the seat for as long as it took to schedule a special election that coincides with another election cycle.

“I have no intention of being both Lt. Gov. and state Representative for four years,” he said.

The former Philadelphia City Controller was stunned in his campaign for Lieutenant Governor Tuesday, when night stretched into morning with state Representative Scott Conklin (D-Centre) holding onto a narrow lead.

Early Wednesday afternoon, there were votes still to be counted in some Philadelphia precincts where Saidel’s campaign hoped to perform well, but it faced a steep uphill climb, trailing by almost 5,000 votes. Conklin led by exactly one-half a percentage point, a margin that, if it grew any slimmer, could trigger an automatic recount at the Secretary of State’s discretion.

“I want to take this opportunity to extend my deepest gratitude to the voters who participated in yesterday’s election and honored me their votes and to congratulate my opponents on a race well run,” Saidel said in a statement Wednesday afternoon. “Our democracy is the greatest system ever devised to choose those who lead and govern us.

“As we await the final results of yesterday’s election,” he said, “it appears more than 70 precincts have not been included in the vote count for Lieutenant Governor leaving the final outcome in question. As we understand it, it is the prerogative of the Pennsylvania Secretary Sate to proceed with a recount. State election law provides for a process that will guarantee every vote is counted and tallied correctly. We have every confidence Secretary Cortes will proceed in an appropriate manner and we will do all we can to bring about an expeditious and accurate conclusion to the primary election.”