Tag: pennsylvania

PA-12 special election today.

Also the Pennsylvania, [Arkansas,] and Kentucky primaries, but hold that thought for a moment.

There is a special election today between Tim Burns and Mark Critz. The Republican candidate is fighting a two-to-one registration advantage, a contested primary on the other side scheduled to boost the other side’s turnout, and a media environment that will grudgingly score a Republican win while eagerly waiting to score a Republican loss – but he’s still (barely) ahead anyway. So now is the time to finish the job. And remember: there is a primary and a special election today. So, if you can vote in PA-12, you have to vote twice. If you’re entitled to a Republican ballot, you should vote as you please in the primary… but Republicans will be voting for Tim Burns in the special.

That’s all.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

#rsrh Arlen Specter (D, PA) catches a break…

…the President will not be campaigning for him.

And while the White House has backed Mr. Specter in the primary, making good on a pledge made when he switched parties just over a year ago, Mr. Obama seems unlikely to make a campaign visit for Mr. Specter before the primary, Democrats said. They said the White House is not eager to be embarrassed by having the president make a last-minute visit on behalf of a candidate who goes on to lose, as happened in the Massachusetts Senate and New Jersey governor’s races.

Aww, they left out Virginia.  They’re also acting as if those losses were despite the President’s presence, rather than because of them; which is a contentious thing to say, but then, the man has a really, really bad track record with these tough races…

Via Jim Geraghty.

Moe Lane

PS: TOOMEY.  By the way?  Joe Sestak’s pro-TARP, pro-‘stimulus,’ pro-Obamacare, pro-cap-and-trade, 100% NARAL, and a gun-grabber.  Yeah, that’s going to fly well in 2010’s Pennsylvania.

Rasmussen: Sestak/Specter 47/42.

Nobody loves a turncoat.

Congressman Joe Sestak has moved ahead of incumbent Arlen Specter in their Senate primary match-up with just over a week left before Pennsylvania Democrats go to the polls to pick their nominee.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely Democratic Primary voters in the state shows Sestak earning 47% of the vote while Specter picks up 42%. This marks the first time Sestak has held the advantage in the race.

Do you know what this situation needs? A lot more money spent in the last week on negative primary race advertising by the Democratic candidates, that’s what it needs. Time to pull out the big guns there, Arlen; after all, if you’re gone after next week you won’t be spending it anyway. So feel free to use the really damaging stuff.

Thanks in advance!

Moe Lane

PS: TOOMEY.

Crossposted to RedState.

DSCC spends netroots money… against netroots.

We already knew that the DSCC had dropped $1 million on keeping the netroot’s candidate down in Ohio: now comes word that they’re doing something similar in Pennsylvania.

The DSCC is spending a significant amount of money to ensure a former GOP Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) wins his May 18 primary, sources with knowledge of the move tell Hotline OnCall.

One source said the DSCC is using coordinated funds to help Specter keep a robust TV presence. Ads that tout Specter’s candidacy now say they are paid for by the DSCC; last week, the disclaimers on the same ads indicated Specter’s campaign had paid for them.

Continue reading DSCC spends netroots money… against netroots.

‘Happy Switch Day to you…’

“Happy Switch Day to you;”
“Happy Switch Day, Snarlin’ Arlen…”

”Well, I probably shouldn’t say this,” he said over lunch last month. ”But I have thought from time to time that I might have helped the country more if I’d stayed a Republican.”

“…’cuz we Do. Not. Miss. You.”

Thanks, I’m here all week! Try the veal!

Moe Lane

PS: And Pat Toomey’s moneybomb is today, so be sure to tip your Republican candidate for PA-SEN! Continue reading ‘Happy Switch Day to you…’

PMA trying to retain lease on PA-12?

In the course of noting that former Murtha crony Mark Critz received 52% of his first-quarter contributions from “[d]efense contractors, local business officers and lobbyists that relied on earmarked federal contracts from Murtha” the Washington Post notes this interesting little detail:

Four former lobbyists of the PMA Group, a once-powerful lobbying shop, also chipped in to elect Critz. Murtha arranged for his spending panel to steer hundreds of millions of earmarked contracts to PMA clients. The firm shut its doors amid a criminal investigation scrutinizing more than $1 million dollars in campaign contributions it gave to Murtha and other subcommittee members. Critz’s money came as well from top officers of companies that were longtime beneficiaries of Murtha’s largess in doling out military contracts: Argon ST, Progeny Systems, Concurrent Technologies Corporation, Advanced Acoustic Concepts and Mountaintop Technologies.

Ah, PMA.  Did you know that they got $117 million in earmarks from the Democrats in the last ten years?  Impressive, in its way.

Continue reading PMA trying to retain lease on PA-12?

#rsrh Specter Swift-boating Sestak?

:Shrug: Sure…

…assuming, of course, that you’re using the term ‘Swift-boating’ correctly – i.e., to mean ‘accurately describing an opponent’s shortcomings‘:

In the latest salvo, [Rep. Joe] Sestak accused [Sen. Arlen] Specter of swift-boating his military record.

The senator released a 30-second spot earlier this week that said the former Navy admiral was relieved of duty at one point for creating a “poor command climate.”

As Ed Morrissey notes, this is perfectly accurate; it in fact ended Sestak’s Navy career. And while leaving the Navy under a bit of a cloud may be a matter of indifference to Official Washington (and a net positive to the progressive Democratic base), it will probably not resonate all that well with statewide PA voters, which is why Specter’s bringing it up.  And why Sestak – who has staked out a position as being the best Democrat to be beaten by Pat Toomey this year – loudly flinched in response.  They must have assumed that if it wasn’t an issue in 2006, it wouldn’t be one in 2010.

Many things that weren’t issues in 2006 or 2008 will be issues in 2010, though.  It’s merely Sestak’s bad luck that he has to address them in a Senate primary and not a House race.

Moe Lane

PS: Toomey.

PA-12: Burns/Critz 44/41 (PPP).

How awkward for the Democrats.

Buoyed by an electorate that is exceptionally sour on national Democrats, Republican Tim Burns has a 44-41 lead over Democrat Mark Critz in the special election to replace John Murtha in the House.

[snip]

…Burns is winning over 22% of the Democratic vote compared to Critz’s 10% of the Republican vote. Burns also has a 51-31 lead with independents, although there are fewer of them in this district than most.

Critz is currently pretending to be against the health care debacle, just like Bill Owens over in NY-23 did before Owens started warming the seat.  Critz will, of course, not be permitted to take that stance, assuming of course that he somehow manages to take the seat…

Moe Lane

Have you contributed to the Tim Burns moneybomb yet?

Specter scores a Twofer.

And some Democrats still wonder why Specter’s underwater in the polls. Via Hot Air, here we see Specter forgetting that he no longer gets the support of the College Republicans:

But that’s not the best part! The best part is, the College Democrats didn’t endorse him, either.

This is like a cry for help, isn’t it? Well, I’m sure that the Other Side can get right on that. He’s their problem now, after all.

Moe Lane

PS: Toomey.

Crossposted to RedState.

I’m sure Pat Toomey thanks you, folks. #rsrh

I doubt that he takes your bluff any more seriously than I do, but it’s always nice to see confusion being brought to the enemy.

(Via Dan Cirucci) As I noted as part of a toast at a private dinner last week, God knows that it isn’t hard.

Moe Lane

PS: So… everybody in that video is aware that Arlen Specter’s going to win that primary anyway, right? So what are you folks going to do then?

PPS: Pat Toomey for Senate, obviously.