Tea Party comment from a Welch aide turns heads (Updated)

Several Democrats have e-mailed me today to point out a comment that Republican Steven Welch’s campaign chair made to Talking Points Memo, in which Guy Ciarrocchi told that Welch “shares many goals of, and support among, tea-party activists.”

“In fact,” Ciarrocchi said, “Steve has met with the leaders and has met them at their bus trips; offering coffee & donuts, as well as words of encouragement.”

The immediate hope among some Democrats was that this…

January 12, 2010 at 2:00 pm | Comments (6)

Schroder drops out of 6th District race (Updated)

State Representative Curt Schroder (R-Chester) withdrew from the contest in the 6th District late Monday, making him the latest Republican whose congressional aspirations were cut short by incumbent pSchroder had briefly signaled that he might stay in the race even if Gerlach ran again, but a two-sentence statement from his campaign Monday evening ended his candidacy. “Curt Schroder has ended his campaign for the 6th…

January 11, 2010 at 7:30 pm | Comments (3)

Poor Steven Welch

One can’t help but feel bad for Republican Steven Welch. Without endorsing his politics, I can say that he seems like a genuinely nice guy.

So he tries to get involved in politics.

January 8, 2010 at 1:28 pm | Comments (2)

With Gerlach in, Welch hedges

Barely five minutes after Congressman Jim Gerlach (R-6) had announced that he’s seeking reelection, fellow Republican Steven Welch issued a statement that kept open the possibility of staying in the race—but didn’t say for sure what he’d do.

“My decision to run for Congress was based upon a belief that the current path being set in Washington is far from ‘stimulating’ job growth; it is killing it,” Welch said. “We must revive our economy by…

January 8, 2010 at 1:12 pm | Comments (10)

Gerlach seeking reelection for a 5th term

A day after withdrawing from the race for governor, Congressman Jim Gerlach (R-6) announced Friday that he was seeking reelection to his House seat, increasing Republican hopes of holding the 6th District and setting up another fierce battle between Gerlach and the Democrats in southeastern Pennsylvania.

His announcement had been widely expected even before he formally ended his gubernatorial campaign. In a statement, Gerlach said he represented the “best chance for Republicans to not only…

January 8, 2010 at 1:02 pm | Comments (0)

Cohen: Gerlach’s been ‘an outstanding congressman’

Like all the other Republicans running in the 6th Congressional District, Howard Cohen says he’s waiting on Jim Gerlach before deciding what to do. Cohen, a former Revenue Secretary in the Thornburgh administration, had nothing but praise for Gerlach shortly after the incumbent congressman

January 8, 2010 at 10:17 am | Comments (0)

Schroder welcomes all PA-6 candidates… except Welch

NEW YORK—It’s clear that state Representative Curt Schroder (R-Chester) will continue to make an issue of primary opponent Steven Welch’s residency, as he keeps up an attack line against the man seen by some as the candidate with the best chance of beating him.

In an interview with pa2010.com during Congressman Charlie Dent’s reception here Saturday afternoon, with Welch about 25 feet away, Schroder said he’s glad to see so many candidates running in the…

December 12, 2009 at 9:50 pm | Comments (13)

Welch mum on how much he’ll spend

NEW YORK—Everyone has a theory on how much millionaire businessman Steven Welch will spend as he tried to win in the 6th Congressional District. The latest came from a well-placed conservative, who wrote on his blog that Welch “can fund his campaign to three million dollars if necessary.”

For obvious strategic reasons, Welch is keeping that information close to the chest.

“I don’t know if he talked to my wife, but we don’t comment on…

December 12, 2009 at 2:14 pm | Comments (0)

Costello calls the primary he exited a ‘free-for-all’

NEW YORK—Now that he’s no longer running for the Republican nomination in the 6th Congressional District, Chester County Recorder of Deeds Ryan Costello is free to pontificate on the political landscape unfettered.

Asked by pa2010.com to offer his analysis, Costello said he sees state Representative Curt Schroder (R-Chester) and businessman Steven Welch as the two favorites. And the contrast between them, he said, shows a sort of double-edged sword in electoral politics. Candidates in Montgomery…

December 12, 2009 at 2:07 pm | Comments (2)

Steven Welch, in a mailbox near you

Republican voters in the 6th Congressional District will soon be getting their first formal introduction to Steven Welch, one of the several candidates seeking their votes in next year’s primary.

Welch’s campaign this week sent out its first mailer, a three-page letter with picturesque photos of his wife and two children that frames his candidacy as one spurred by the Democratic agenda in Washington.

“I must admit I never dreamed I’d be writing this letter,”…

December 10, 2009 at 10:55 am | Comments (2)