Pike rolls out endorsements, fundraising numbers

On a day when incumbent Congressman Jim Gerlach (R-6) is expected to announce a gubernatorial bid, the Democrat who seeks to replace him rolled out a series of endorsements and said he had $630,000 in campaign cash.

Former Inquirer editorial writer Doug Pike’s campaign said he has been endorsed by a number of current and former southeast Pennsylvania elected officials, including state Senator Daylin Leach (D-Montgomery), state Representative Josh Shapiro, and former gubernatorial candidate Lynn…

July 14, 2009 at 9:36 am | Comments (0)

Gerlach reportedly to announce gubernatorial run

Congressman Jim Gerlach (R-6) will forgo reelection next year to make a run at the Governor’s Mansion instead, The Morning Call reports.

Gerlach has for months been considering a gubernatorial bid, even as local and national Republicans have shuddered at the prospect of defending his increasingly-Democratic seat without their incumbent. But The Morning Call

July 14, 2009 at 6:45 am | Comments (1)

Gerlach says Senate run ‘off the table’

defend his House seat or run for governor.

“[A Senate run] is pretty much off the table,” said Gerlach, now in his fourth term.

The announcement leaves Republican Pat Toomey without any significant opposition, for now, in the party’s Senate primary.

As for the governor race, many GOPers have already rallied around Attorney General Tom Corbett, leaving Gerlach’s potential candidacy a long shot.

“It’s up to him,” state party chairman Robert Gleason Jr. told The…

June 24, 2009 at 3:16 pm | Comments (2)

With hire, it seems more and more likely that Dems will clear the field for Pike

MIDDLE OF NOWEHERE, CANADA—Still writing from a lake you can barely find on Google Earth, but as you can see, the news never stops at pa2010.com.

I was intrigued to see that Doug Pike’s Congressional campaign has

June 23, 2009 at 7:16 pm | Comments (3)

Pike hires trio of consulting firms for 6th District run

Democrat Doug Pike, a former Philadelphia Inquirer editorial writer, has hired three political consulting firms—including the company run in part by Neil Oxman, a longtime strategist for Gov. Ed Rendell—for /a/p
pa href="http://www.campaigngroup.tv/" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.campaigngroup.tv']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.campaigngroup.tv%2F','The+Campaign+Group')" target="_blank"The Campaign Group/a, which Oxman runs with Doc Sweitzer and J.J. Balaban, will advise the Pike campaign and produce its radio and television ads. Philadelphia native Jef Pollock’s a href="http://www.globalstrategygroup.com/" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.globalstrategygroup.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.globalstrategygroup.com%2F','Global+Strategy+Group')" target="_blank">Global Strategy Group will conduct polls for the campaign. pThe Campaign Group was recently working for Democrat Joe Torsella’s a href="http://www.pa2010.com/2009/05/report-torsella-to-bow-out-of-senate-race/" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.pa2010.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pa2010.com%2F2009%2F05%2Freport-torsella-to-bow-out-of-senate-race%2F','aborted+Senate+run')" target="_blank"aborted Senate run/a, is working for gubernatorial candidate Dan Onorato and helped elect Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter. Oxman this week topped empa2010.com/em‘s list of the Commonwealth’s a href="http://www.pa2010.com/2009/06/pa2010coms-top-10-political-consultants/" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.pa2010.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pa2010.com%2F2009%2F06%2Fpa2010coms-top-10-political-consultants%2F','Top+10+Political+Consultants')" target="_blank">Top 10 Political Consultants.

June 23, 2009 at 4:54 pm | Comments (6)

In PA-6, Pike starts staffing up

Still standing alone in the Democratic field for Congress, former Inquirer editorial writer Doug Pike is beginning to build his political team in the 6th Congressional District.

The campaign has hired Andrew Eldredge-Martin as manager and Amanda McKay as finance director, a campaign official told pa2010.com. Eldrege-Martin managed now-Congressman Chis Carney’s upset win against Don Sherwood in 2006. More recently, he managed Bob Lord’s Congressional challenge to John Shadegg in Arizona last year, when Lord…

June 15, 2009 at 12:12 pm | Comments (6)

Gerlach: GOP focuses too much on taxes and national security

Chiming in on the brewing debate over the future of the Republican Party, Congressman Jim Gerlach (R-6) says the GOP needs to broaden the range of issues and policies it emphasizes.

“We are too focused on taxes, spending and national security,” Gerlach told Capitolwire (subscription). “There are other important issues we can agree on to broaden our appeal to voters: school safety, preventing bullying, farmland preservation, open space.

“Our party should not just be a…

June 2, 2009 at 10:21 am | Comments (3)

Musical chairs continues for Pa. Congressional seats

The domino effect of the Specter party shift continues to work its way through Pa. politics, as Congressmen. Jim Gerlach (R-6) and Joe Sestak (D-7) threaten to run for Senate, state Representative Curt Schroder (R-Chester) eyes Gerlach’s seat, and Republican former U.S. Attorney Pat Meehan and state Representative Bryan Lentz (D-Delaware) consider Sestak’s seat.

The one thing you can be sure of is that all of this will change several tims before next Fall.…

June 1, 2009 at 11:06 am | Comments (0)

Schroder inches toward Congressional run

State Representative Curt Schroder (R-Chester) has filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission that will allow him to begin organizing a potential run for Congress next year, CQ Politics reports.

Schroder has been planning for months to seek Congressman Jim Gerlach’s (R-6) House seat if Gerlach pursues statewide office. Whether Schroder’s

May 28, 2009 at 7:09 pm | Comments (3)

Gerlach not on NRCC’s new protect-list

Congressman Jim Gerlach (R-6), who is seen as increasingly likely to vacate his seat and run for statewide office, is not included in a new National Republican Congressional Committee program to protect vulnerable House incumbents, Politico pTen incumbents so far are part of the NRCC’s Patriot Program, through which the Washington campaign committee will help fund Republicans trying to hold increasingly Democratic districts. Gerlach, whose 6th District seat has been…

May 19, 2009 at 10:01 am | Comments (0)