The Allentown Morning Call's D.C. correspondent Colby Itkowitz will appear on our panel. Itkowitz earned Specter's ire a few weeks ago for reporting that he had second-guessed his fateful decision to switch parties. She'll be joined by Matt Paul, State Capitol correspondent for Radio Pennsylvania, and Heather Long, Deputy Editorial Page Editor for the Harrisburg Patriot-News. For Neil Oxman's take on "the ad," click here.
Rep. Sestak told the jubilant crowd Tuesday night at his victory celebration, "This is what democracy looks like: a win for the people over the establishment, over status quo, even over Washington, D.C.'' And despite state Democratic Party chairman T. J. Rooney's earlier prediction that a Sestak win would be "cataclysmic" for their chances in November, the Ds were rallying to Sestak's side by the end of the night.
Pat Toomey, who handily beat conservative activist Peg Luksik for the GOP Senate nomination, dropped by the midstate the day after the primary and also took aim at the Washington establishment. During his stop at Excel, a kitchen- and bathroom-remodeling company in Lemoyne, he said the general election in November presents Pennsylvania voters with a clear ideological and policy contrast. He wants to see an end to government bailouts of any kind. “I’m going to live by a principle in the U.S. Senate that says: If you’re a successful business owner, you shouldn’t be punished with huge tax increases, but if your business fails, you should not expect the taxpayer to bail you out," he explained.
New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, painted Toomey as further to the right than Pennsylvania former GOP Senator Rick Santorum who lost to Democrat Bob Casey Jr. in 2006. “ If elected,” Menendez said, “ Pat Toomey would do even more (than Santorum) to protect the big banks, Wall Street, the oil companies and the insurance companies – all at the expense of Pennsylvania’s middle class.”
Both the Republicans and Democrats are analyzing closely the results in Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District. In Tuesday's special election to fulfill the term of the late Democratic Congressman Jack Murtha, his longtime aide Mark Critz handily overcame Republican millionaire businessman Tim Burns. The race garnered tremendous national interest as the first contest since Congress approved the health-care overhaul law. Critz, who was sworn into office on Thursday, however, told voters he did not support the health care law. He also promised not to vote to repeal it. Critz faces a rematch against Burns in November for a new two-year term.
Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato claimed the prize in the four-man race for the Democratic nomination for governor. He’ll face Republican Attorney General Tom Corbett who set aside a weak challenge from state Representative Sam Rohrer. The vaunted grassroots Tea Party army that Rohrer purportedly had amassed failed to materialize at the polls. And the state Democratic Party endorsement doesn't appear to have helped former Philadelphia City Controller Jonathan Saidel as he remains about 4,300 votes behind state Representative Scott Conklin (Centre County) for the lieutenant governor's nomination. An automatic recount might be triggered. On the Republican side, the party endorsement did help Bucks County Commissioner Jim Cawley lead the pack to join Corbett on the GOP ticket this November. Corbett and Onorato, two lawyers from Pittsburgh, are expected to offer a spirited fight to succeed Ed Rendell in the Governor's Office.
Verifying the adage that all politics is local, Democratic voters in Greene County stuck by their indicted state Representative Bill DeWeese and Republican voters in Northeast Philadelphia did the same for their indicted state Representative John Perzel. Both former speakers of the state House face Bonusgate-related public-corruption charges as well as political challengers in the fall. In fact, only one state legislative incumbent lost her job yesterday. So much for voters' anti-incumbent rage ... at least here in Pennsylvania where turnout on a chilly, rainy day was at best about 30 percent. Join us Friday night at 8:30 and share your thoughts on the 2010 primary at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
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