Lentz takes to the airwaves with first two ads

With 48 days until voters go to the poll, Democratic congressional candidate Bryan Lentz is taking his campaign to TV screens with two new commercials.

The 30-second spots were set to hit the airwaves in the 7th District Tuesday morning. Though the size and scope of the first ad buy was unclear, Lentz’s war chest and the expensive Philadelphia media market would indicate that the first buy will be relatively small. Though he is expected …

September 14, 2010 at 10:22 am | Comments (9)

Cantor raising cash for Meehan

The man who stands to become House Majority Leader if Republicans prevail in November is boosting the campaign coffers of 7th District nominee Pat Meehan.

Eric Cantor, the Virginia representative who is currently Minority Whip, will headline a fundraiser for Meehan Sept. 21 in Philadelphia.

Both Meehan and Democratic nominee Bryan Lentz have received significant support from their respective party leaders throughout the last year in the competitive, open-seat race. Meehan was on of several …

September 13, 2010 at 10:01 am | Comments (0)

Retired general to stump for Lentz

A retired Army General who served in Iraq will hit the campaign trail next weekend with former Army Ranger and current congressional candidate Bryan Lentz.

Retired Major General Paul Eaton will headline the Vets for Lentz kickoff event next Saturday afternoon in Upper Darby. Lentz, a Democrat, is running against Republican Pat Meehan and independent Jim Schneller in the 7th District.

Eaton headed up operations to train Iraqi troops shortly after the 2003 invasion, and …

September 10, 2010 at 8:00 am | Comments (0)

Conservative group hits Altmire, Lentz in TV campaign

A conservative group that bills itself as business-friendly is running TV ads targeting Congressman Jason Altmire (D-4) and Democratic congressional candidate Bryan Lentz.

The ads from Americans for Job Security criticizes Altmire for claiming to independent from the Democratic leadership, and Lentz for his spending votes in Harrisburg.

The size and scope of the ad buys were not immediately clear. But Politico, in …

September 9, 2010 at 10:50 am | Comments (10)

LEFTOVERS: Toomey’s earmarks, Sestak on stimulating polls, C-SPAN on the 7th

Republican Pat Toomey’s Senate campaign has been working around the clock to push the narrative that Democrat Joe Sestak is a hypocrite on the subject of earmarks. Those efforts culminated with pBut the Toomey people learned this week that the story they push can also bite back./p
pemThe Inquirer/em a href="http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/pa/20100908_Toomey_got_millions_in_earmarks_before_railing_against_them.html" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.philly.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Finquirer%2Flocal%2Fpa%2F20100908_Toomey_got_millions_in_earmarks_before_railing_against_them.html','Check+out+Fitzgerald%22s+story+here.')" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.philly.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Finquirer%2Flocal%2Fpa%2F20100908_Toomey_got_millions_in_earmarks_before_railing_against_them.html','reported')" target="_blank">reported Wednesday morning that “got millions in earmarks before railing against them.” Friend-of-the-site Thomas Fitzgerald, who’s done an excellent job staying on top of this story, noted that the former congressman “won at least $9 million in earmarks, including $3 million for a private …

September 8, 2010 at 4:21 pm | Comments (3)

Christie to campaign for Meehan again

For the second time this cycle, New Jersey Gov. Chis Christie is going to pitch in for his old colleague Pat Meehan.

Christie will headline a Sept. 20 fundraiser for Meehan, the GOP nominee in the 7th Congressional District. Both men were U.S. Attorneys in the Bush administration.

The evening event will be held at Springfield Country Club in the Delaware County district. …

September 8, 2010 at 11:28 am | Comments (1)

AG’s office opens probe of Schneller’s petitions

Of the three candidates in the 7th Congressional District, two now find their nominating petitions under law enforcement scrutiny.

The state attorney general’s office has opened an investigation into independent Jim Schneller’s nominating papers. The investigation was spurred by a letter from an attorney representing supporters of Republican Pat Meehan.

Meehan’s nominating petitions are already being probed by the office for alleged fraud. His supporters recently pThe probe of Schneller’s petitions was opened before a href="http://www.pa2010.com/2010/09/seeking-meehans-removal-schneller-sues-state-officials/" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.pa2010.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pa2010.com%2F2010%2F09%2Fseeking-meehans-removal-schneller-sues-state-officials%2F','he+filed+suit+against+Attorney+General+Tom+Corbett')" target="_blank">he filed suit against Attorney General Tom Corbett, …

September 8, 2010 at 10:53 am | Comments (13)

Seeking Meehan’s removal, Schneller sues state officials

Fresh off pTo that end, the unusual candidate has done something decidedly unusual: he’s filed suit against Attorney General Tom Corbett and acting Secretary of State Basil Merenda. Schneller wants the Commonwealth Court to compel Corbett’s office to complete an investigation into the alleged fraud contained in Meehan’s nominating petitions. And he wants to the Secretary of State to withhold Meehan’s name from the ballot pending conclusion of that investigation./p
p“We have every intent of pursuing this case to its final conclusion,” Schneller told empa2010.com/em on Tuesday. “The people of the 7th District deserve a candidate who has his feet on the ground./p
p“The matter is of urgent public importance,” he added, “especially because the public deserves a fair and open resolution of the matter, rather than a message of indifference and inactivity.”/p
pThe legal action seems highly unlikely to succeed, considering that a href="http://www.pa2010.com/2010/03/ballot-challenge-spearheaded-by-lentz-alleges-widespread-fraud-in-meehans-petitions/" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.pa2010.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pa2010.com%2F2010%2F03%2Fballot-challenge-spearheaded-by-lentz-alleges-widespread-fraud-in-meehans-petitions%2F','a+ballot+challenge+brought+against+Meehan+by+Democrat+Bryan+Lentz%22s+campaign')" target="_blank"a ballot challenge brought against Meehan by Democrat Bryan Lentz’s campaign/a already a href="http://www.pa2010.com/2010/04/in-defeat-for-lentz-judges-ruling-keeps-meehan-on-the-ballot/" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.pa2010.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pa2010.com%2F2010%2F04%2Fin-defeat-for-lentz-judges-ruling-keeps-meehan-on-the-ballot%2F','failed+in+court+earlier+this+year')" target="_blank">failed in court earlier this year. In that case, a Commonwealth Court judge did not rule against the challenge in its entirety, but rather issued a series of rulings that prompted Lentz’s supporters to withdraw the challenge.

But it still amounts to the latest move by a litigious candidate who has shaken up the competitive House race with his quirky rhetoric and his potential to pull conservative votes from Meehan. Though not …

September 7, 2010 at 3:12 pm | Comments (12)

Local TV gets in on the act

With Labor Day behind us, that means even local TV stations are starting to step up coverage House races in Pennsylvania.

…

September 7, 2010 at 10:51 am | Comments (1)

Schneller will be on the ballot; setback for Meehan

It’s officially a three-man contest in the 7th Congressional District.

A legal challenge seeking to keep independent Jim Schneller off the ballot was withdrawn from Commonwealth Court late Thursday, shortly after a judge issued a key ruling against supporters of Republican candidate Pat Meehan, p“This is a victory for Pennsylvanians,” Schneller said, “this is a victory for all Americans who encourage and seek ballot access.”/p
pJames Colins, the Cozen O’Connor attorney representing Meehan’s camp, voiced dismayed by the outcome./p
p“I am disappointed with today’s rulings regarding the validity of Mr. Schneller’s petitions,” Colins said in a statement. “We pursued this case based on evidence that these petitions were not circulated in accordance with the law. The court has made its decision, and I respect that. However, I continue to believe that Mr. Schneller’s candidacy was disingenuously bolstered by Democrats, and he would not be on the ballot if it were not for a coordinated effort by the Lentz campaign.”/p
pThe significant help Schneller received from Lentz’s supporters only added bitterness to a race already filled with it. It also reignited an argument over nominating petitions that started in the spring, when a href="http://www.pa2010.com/2010/03/ballot-challenge-spearheaded-by-lentz-alleges-widespread-fraud-in-meehans-petitions/" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.pa2010.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pa2010.com%2F2010%2F03%2Fballot-challenge-spearheaded-by-lentz-alleges-widespread-fraud-in-meehans-petitions%2F','Lentz%22s+campaign+brought+a+ballot+challenge+alleging+fraud+in+Meehan%22s+petitions')" target="_blank">Lentz’s campaign brought a ballot challenge alleging fraud in Meehan’s petitions. The challenge failed in court, but Meehan’s nominating petitions remain under investigation by the state attorney general’s office. Ever …

September 2, 2010 at 6:22 pm | Comments (16)