The (almost) last word on endorsements in the 6th

Democrats Doug Pike and Manan Trivedi have spent months warring over endorsements in their 6th District primary. But with three weeks before voters make their pick, will they really make a difference?

Pike thinks so. Even as a handful of Democratic insiders have made headlines by leaving his endorsement list, much of his support has come from organized labor, and he said those unions would be good at mobilizing voters and drumming up support.

Trivedi,…

April 26, 2010 at 10:00 am | Comments (6)

Pike and Trivedi agree they’ll back the winner

SINKING SPRING—Democrats Doug Pike Manan Trivedi have been embroiled in a fiercely competitive primary, and while they both want to represent the 6th Congressional District, what they really want is for incumbent Congressman Jim Gerlach (R-6) to be out of a job. So with just days left until primary voters make their pick, both candidates say they’ll campaign for the other should they lose on May 18.

“I’m a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat, and I want Jim…

April 26, 2010 at 8:30 am | Comments (3)

Pike: This is all about beating Gerlach

See a video clip below of 6th District Democratic hopeful Doug Pike’s closing remarks during a

April 25, 2010 at 11:27 am | Comments (3)

Trivedi: My profile makes me the best candidate

See a video clip below of 6th District Democratic hopeful Manan Trivedi’s closing remarks during a

April 25, 2010 at 11:19 am | Comments (0)

In debate, Pike and Trivedi share a common foe

SINKING SPRING—Democrats Doug Pike and Manan Trivedi agreed on quite a bit during a debate here Saturday afternoon, but perhaps shared no opinion more strongly than this: Congressman Jim Gerlach (R-6) has to go.

“Both of us would be head and shoulders above the very weak representative that we have now,” Pike said during the debate, which was part of the day-long Berks Progressive Summit.

Trivedi, a Reading doctor, and Pike, a former Inquirer editorial…

April 24, 2010 at 8:47 pm | Comments (11)

Kicking in another $100K, Pike maintains the money edge over Trivedi

Democrat Manan Trivedi raised more money from donors who weren’t himself during the first quarter of the year than primary opponent Doug Pike. But Pike continued to write big checks for his campaign in the 6th Congressional District, and after contributing another $100,000 toward the effort, Pike continues to enjoy a cash advantage of almost $1 million, according to newly-filed campaign finance data.

Trivedi, a Reading doctor and Iraq War veteran, raised more than $170,000…

April 16, 2010 at 2:45 pm | Comments (9)

Gerlach raised over half-a-million in three months

Congressman Jim Gerlach (R-6) has rapidly replenished his campaign coffers since calling off his run for governor, raising more than half-a-million bucks in the first three months of 2010, according to

April 15, 2010 at 12:59 pm | Comments (5)

Trivedi rolls out more endorsements

Any doubt that the local Democratic leadership and rank-and-file are mostly behind Manan Trivedi in the 6th Congressional District has long since been dispelled. But that didn’t stop Trivedi’s campaign from unveiling still more endorsements from party insiders Wednesday—including two people who had previously endorsed his primary opponent Doug Pike.

The latest Democrats to jump the fence in the contentious primary were Reading City Councilwoman Marcia Goodman-Hinnershitz and former Lower Merion Township Commissioner Felice Wiener.…

April 14, 2010 at 3:27 pm | Comments (6)

Planned Parenthood and LGBT group back Hoeffel for governor

From the moment that Democrat Joe Hoeffel got into the race for governor, there’s been little question that his social policies are the most friendly toward abortion rights advocates and gay rights advocates. This week Hoeffel was rewarded for those stances, with significant endorsements from one of the state’s most prominent LGBT groups and from the state’s Planned Parenthood political action committee.

Hoeffel, the Montgomery County commissioner and former congressman, was endorsed Wednesday night by…

April 8, 2010 at 5:30 pm | Comments (5)

April Fool’s Day Fun: Peterson for guv, Palin talks Trivedi, Specter’s greatest hits

Whoever said that politics can’t be a joke?

Not the folks who were having fun on Thursday, April Fool’s Day. There were laughs to be had up and down the ballot. And undoubtedly topping the list of gags was former Republican Congressman John Peterson, who drafted up a press release announcing that he’d run for governor as an independent. Promising to run on a “pro-business, anti I-80 tolling platform,” Peterson said he’d formally launch his…

April 1, 2010 at 3:46 pm | Comments (4)