OFA kicks off midterm campaign drive (VIDEO)

PHOENIXVILLE—Less than two years after he leaned on a community-organizing-style effort to win the White House, President Obama and the political organization born out of his campaign are set for their biggest electoral test to date: the midterm elections.

Organizing for America, Obama’s arm of the Democratic National Committee, kicked off their 2010 efforts in earnest this weekend, with events throughout the country that brought candidates and volunteers together to begin the difficult work of…

June 6, 2010 at 11:40 am | Comments (14)

Trivedi gets a new fundraiser

Fresh off a big primary win but facing a steep uphill climb in the money race, Democrat Manan Trivedi has hired a new finance director.

Tyler Cole, who most recently was the deputy finance director for Chris Doherty’s gubernatorial campaign, began working on Trivedi’s 6th District race this week. He has also worked for congressional candidate Mary Jo Kilroy and senate candidate Jennifer Brunner, both in Ohio. Megan Wood, who was the campaign’s finance director…

June 3, 2010 at 4:43 pm | Comments (7)

Coleman group airs ad boosting Dent, Gerlach

Months ahead of competitive general election contests, Congressmen Jim Gerlach (R-6) and Charlie Dent (R-15) are already getting some help.

American Action Network, a conservative policy group, recently began airing a TV ad that bills the two incumbents as lawmakers who “understand what businesses need.”

The size of the ad buy remains unclear; since the spot doesn’t directly advocate the election or defeat of a political candidate, the group was not required to immediately disclose…

May 25, 2010 at 4:01 pm | Comments (6)

Gerlach turns his focus to ‘far-left’ Trivedi

Congressman Jim Gerlach (R-6) made the opening argument against his newly-nominated Democratic opponent Wednesday, painting Manan Trivedi as a “far-left liberal” who would be a “rubber stamp” for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a candidate who would ultimately prove to be out of step with voters in the district.

“One of the problems the [Democratic] leaders have had over the last few cycles is they come up with a very far-left liberal candidate, and it’s been…

May 19, 2010 at 7:10 pm | Comments (43)

Pike concedes, endorsing Trivedi for general election

Almost 24 hours after polls closed, Democrat Doug Pike conceded defeat in the 6th District primary, throwing his support behind Reading doctor Manan Trivedi in what is sure to be a competitive general election battle against Congressman Jim Gerlach (R-6).

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May 19, 2010 at 4:35 pm | Comments (22)

Numbers point to a Trivedi win, but Pike doesn’t concede

READING—Democrat Manan Trivedi appeared to have won the hotly-contest primary in the 6th Congressional District late Tuesday night, holding a narrow lead over opponent Doug Pike hours after polls clsoed. But even with news organizations calling the race for Trivedi, Pike had yet to concede, telling supporters that the race was too close to call and couldn’t be decided until at least Wednesday.

Action in the close race extended well past midnight and ended with…

May 19, 2010 at 7:00 am | Comments (20)

Gerlach says he’s ready for whichever Dem wins

CHESTER SPRINGS—With Democrats battling it out for a chance to take him on, Congressman Jim Gerlach (R-6) sounded confident Tuesday that he’ll win another term in November.

In a brief interview after he cast his vote here, Gerlach told pa2010.com that he feels good about his chances in the general election—regardless of which Democrat prevails Tuesday. Gerlach is expected to cruise against underdog Tea Party candidate Patrick Sellers in the Republican primary.

With the political…

May 18, 2010 at 4:24 pm | Comments (0)

When children vote

There’s something sordid happening today… children are going into the voting booth. We received this shocking photo from the 11th District congressional campaign of Republican Lou Barletta.

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May 18, 2010 at 1:22 pm | Comments (5)

The top 5 campaign Web sites

In its most basic form, a campaign Web site is little more than a bare-bones, online biography of a political candidate and a description of his or her stances on the issues. Such rudimentary creations do little to inspire in this digital world of contemporary politics.

But at its best, a campaign Web site is so much more. It is a gateway into a candidate’s political persona, a gathering place for supporters, a strategic hub…

May 17, 2010 at 6:20 pm | Comments (7)

Abortion remains potent issue in 6th District, as NARAL voices neutrality

In the contest between Democrats Doug Pike and Manan Trivedi, the issue of abortion just won’t go away. The two candidates in the 6th Congressional District are battling for the votes of suburban Democratic women down to the wire before Tuesday’s primary. And in the process, things are staying very much heated.

The latest flare up came when the prominent group NARAL Pro-Choice issued a statement Friday clarifying that it has not endorsed either candidate,…

May 15, 2010 at 6:06 pm | Comments (6)