Sam Rohrer. Now we see what a strong grassroots organization can deliver. Rohrer’s Senate campaign brought 13,000 signatures – about as many as the endorsed candidate and the candidate with $4.4 mil combined. Not too shabby.
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Obama campaign. Collecting 48,000 signatures is one way to get the organization back into gear, and demonstrate what 7 offices across the state can get you (Allentown, Erie, Pittsburgh, State College, West Chester and two in Philadelphia). The OFA folks came within sight of Ed Rendell’s legendary 2006 record of 53K sigs.
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Inky/DN/Philly.com buyout. The New York Times cast a critical eye this week to plans by Ed Rendell and other Philly power brokers to purchase the news industry in Philly. And well that they are. The scuttlebutt is far and wide that the promise of new ownership is already trickling into the newsroom and affecting editorial decisions – especially on news relating to the buyout.
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Tim Holden. The conservative Dem congressman now represents hundreds of thousands of new constituents, many of whom live in the deep blue Scranton/Wilkes-Barre corridor. He’s facing a serious primary challenge from Scranton attorney Matt Cartwright, and discovered this week that Luzerne Councilman Stephen Urban will not be on the ballot to split those NEPA votes.
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SEPA Republican congressmen. There had been scattered rumors over the past months that some of the more moderate GOPers in the southeast (Dent, Fitzpatrick, Gerlach, Meehan) might face a Tea Party style challenge. No so. When the petitions had come in, they stood alone in their party on the ballot.
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House GOP Leadership. Changing the prevailing wage has been on their agenda for months, and it’s a major issue for the base. But in what was described as a “comedy of errors” on Tuesday, the GOP failed to whip enough of their own membership to get a reform package passed.