KP's Delegation '08 Blog

Bennett: Uniquely Qualified to Serve the 15th?

Greg Palmer — Wed, 7 May 2008 05:15:28 -0400

Bernie O’Hare conducted a great interview with congressional candidate Sam Bennett, who’s challenging Charlie Dent in the 15th. I think he’s splitting it up into parts, but here’s my favorite piece of Part 1:

Question: How are you qualified to represent us in the U.S. House of Reps., having never served as an elected official before? (Bennett has never won a primary in which she ran opposed by another Democrat.) read more »

The 10th CD - Not as Republican as You Thought?

Greg Palmer — Mon, 5 May 2008 20:03:04 -0400

Straight from the PA Dems, but worth noting. The 10th Congressional District, currently occupied by Chris Carney (D), is more Democratic than we all thought. The current registration numbers are 49% Repub, 40% Dem, and 11% independent. So, what’s this mean for Carney in the fall?

New voter registration figures show that the 10th Congressional District of Pennsylvania is trending Democratic. Based on new registration figures collected county by county, the 10th Congressional district now has Republican voter registration at 49%, Democratic registration at 40%, and Independents are at 11%. Past public polling has shown Republican Party registration to be 53%—a significant drop.

Au Contraire, Madame: Bennett Donors Outside PA

Greg Palmer — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 04:59:58 -0400

Very interesting, especially given that Bennett flacks accuse Dent of getting lots of support from outside the district.

How’s that Bennett grass roots campaign going? According to a study performed by the Dent camp, not too well. Evil genius Shawn Millan reports that 78% of her $177,823 in itemized contributions comes from outside the Lehigh Valley. Uh oh! Nearly 30% comes from people who do not even live in Pennsylvania.

Hackett Likely to Face Carney in November

Greg Palmer — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 05:01:22 -0400

Why doesn’t this sort of pettiness between these two surprise me?

Luzerne County businessman Chris Hackett may be poised to challenge incumbent Rep. Chris Carney, D-Dimock Township, after apparently capturing the GOP nomination in the 10th Congressional District on Tuesday.

His opponent was far from conceding defeat, however.

As of 12:30, Mr. Hackett was leading opponent Dan Meuser by 2,339 votes, according to an unofficial tally by The Times-Tribune. According to unofficial primary election returns, Mr. Hackett polled 31,046 to Mr. Meuser’s 28,707 votes. read more »

5th District Ballot Appears Set

Greg Palmer — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 04:58:12 -0400

Centre County Republican Glenn “G.T.” Thompson was leading in the race for the Republican nomination to the 5th Congressional District, and Mark McCracken appeared to have clinched the Democratic nomination to the seat Tuesday.

It was the Centre County voting who thrust Thompson into the lead late Tuesday, but Centre County Republican Matt Shaner at a late hour said he was not ready to concede until complete results were in.

“It looks as if Glenn Thompson has won the race,” Shaner said. “But the Department of State shows me within 700 votes, and between 30 and 35 of the precincts have not reported. read more »

Millionaires Club: Hackett and Meuser Debate

Greg Palmer — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 05:07:56 -0400

But they agree on everything!

Hackett got the first opening statement and said he hasn’t spent a lot of time talking about his successful businesses but listening to people. Meuser used his time to talk about Pride Mobility. When asked about to pay for the Iraq war and how you cut taxes at the same time they both dodged the question. On the follow up by Boris, Hackett said that raising taxes decreases revenue to the federal government and advocated a flat tax. Meuser went off on Corporate tax rates.

Meuser and Hackett Spend Over $1.1M on TV Ads

Greg Palmer — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 05:02:39 -0400

Alternate headline: Two rich white dudes fight to be Republican nominee.

Republican 10th Congressional candidates Chris Hackett and Dan Meuser have spent more than $1.1 million on local television advertisements since January, paid for largely with their own money.

Between April 1 and this Tuesday, nearly 10 hours — 1,166 30-second spots — of advertisements about the 10th District race will run on Wilkes-Barre/Scranton television stations, according to reports from WBRE-TV, WNEP-TV, WYOU-TV and WOLF-TV. read more »

GOP Recruits Marine to Challenge Patrick Murphy

Greg Palmer — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 05:00:29 -0400

Rep. Patrick J. Murphy (D-Pa.) has been one of the most high-profile freshman members of Congress in his first term.

As one of Barack Obama’s most visible supporters in Pennsylvania, he routinely appears as a surrogate to tout Obama’s candidacy. And because he is the only Iraq war veteran serving in Congress, Democrats have turned to Murphy as someone with the credibility to speak out against the war. read more »

Hackett Didn't Break Laws Over Illegal Housekeeper

Greg Palmer — Tue, 8 Apr 2008 05:03:45 -0400

Republican congressional candidate Chris Hackett did not break the law by failing to notify federal authorities that his housekeeper was in the country illegally, according to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency spokesman.

Hackett said he fired his housekeeper after learning the woman was an illegal immigrant. He didn’t notify the authorities because, he said, he didn’t feel he was required to do that.

(via Gort)

Hackett and Meuser Trigger Millionaire's Provision

Greg Palmer — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 05:07:11 -0400

So this benefits Chris Carney beginning April 23rd, right?

The Millionaires’ Amendment is a provision of the McCain–Feingold Act that is designed to level the playing field if someone is able to spend large amounts of their own money in a federal election. If someone drops $350,000 of spare change into their own house campaign the contribution limits are tripled for the opponent and the national and state party’s may make unlimited coordinated expenditures on behalf of the candidate. This won’t affect the Republican primary but may impact the General Election. read more »

NRCC Chair Returns $3,500 to Dent's Coffers

Greg Palmer — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 05:09:43 -0400

Former NRCC Treasurer Christopher J. Ward last month returned $3,500 taken from Rep. Charlie Dent’s (R-Pa.) leadership PAC, bringing to more than $7,700 the total returned by Ward so far.

In a disclosure report filed with the Federal Election Commission today, Dent’s PAC, Dedicated to Establishing Teamwork (DENT) PAC, reported receiving $3,500 from Ward on Feb. 6. The contribution was classified as “repay misappropriated funds.”

(via AAJ)

Hackett and Meuser: Separated at Birth?

Greg Palmer — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 07:39:24 -0400

It doesn’t sound like there was much of a debate Monday night when Republicans Chris Hackett and Dan Meuser faced off at Susquehanna University for the right to challenge U.S. Rep. Chris Carney in the 10th Congressional District.

Both businessmen favor “lower taxes and reduced government spending, staying in Iraq while a terror threat persists and tightening the borders against illegal immigration,” reports the Daily Item of Sunbury.

So how are they different?

Crowded House Primary Turns Spotlight on Mid-PA

Greg Palmer — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 05:00:52 -0400

Nine Republicans and three Democrats are competing for the seat held by Rep. John Peterson, a Republican retiring at the end of his term. The district, which includes a wide swath of central and northern Pennsylvania, includes State College but is predominantly rural. Peterson has not endorsed a candidate, and there is no clear front-runner. But the winner of the Republican primary would likely have an advantage in November in the heavily Republican district. read more »

Stuck in the Middle with You: Altmire's a Centrist

Greg Palmer — Sat, 8 Mar 2008 10:03:07 -0500

Rep. Jason Altmire, D-Pa., said that the moderate vote-ratings scores for him and other freshmen prove that “we could, for the first time, field candidates who could be competitive in these [Republican] districts. These results show where I want to be: working the middle with both sides.” By contrast, Altmire said, he defeated his predecessor, GOP Rep. Melissa Hart, in his suburban Pittsburgh district because “she had moved too far from the center; once her constituents found that out, they kicked her out.” Hart is seeking to regain the seat this year. read more »

Barletta Campaign Threatens PA Progressive Blog

Greg Palmer — Sat, 8 Mar 2008 09:12:13 -0500

I’m still waiting for the lawsuit Lou Barletta’s Congressional campaign threatened me with two weeks ago. Are process servers on strike? Did someone in Hazleton realize how stupid this was? I wrote this article after press reports that Lou Barletta, running in the 11th Congressional District against incumbent Democrat Paul Kanjorski, declared the loan listed on his FEC reports for six years was personal and not a campaign debt.

Of course, if it was a personal loan secured by his home that may raise other violations… read more »