Every week, PoliticsPA will give you a taste of the buzz, rumors and gossip floating around Pennsylvania’s political wags. This week’s edition discusses a SEPA GOP straw poll, Buchanan’s Republican opponent, and … a gubernatorial run for Keith McCall?
A bit of breaking news: PoliticsPA has learned Bucks County Commissioner Jim Cawley on Wednesday won the southeast GOP leaders straw poll, with only Chester County Commissioner Carol Aichele receiving any of the other votes. (Unsurprisingly, Pat Toomey and Tom Corbett won their straw polls.)
The news comes after the Republican’s central caucus gave former Auditor General candidate Chet Beiler a straw poll victory for the lieutenant governor’s race. Dauphin County Commissioner Nick DiFrancesco finished second, with Cawley finishing fourth.
Cawley is now seen as the pick of the GOP establishment, a fact that is already raising the ire of many conservative activists.
Mary Beth Buchanan’s run for Congress in the 4th Congressional District is now seen as all but certain, but one Republican source tells PoliticsPA she might have to worry about a Republican primary before Democratic U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire. The former U.S. attorney might have high name recognition, but her campaign hasn’t even begun to take shape, much less raise money.
The GOP insider says Allegheny County attorney Keith Rothfus, who’s been making the rounds among local officials for months, is seen as a serious candidate and might give Buchanan more trouble than she expects.
Keith McCall’s surprising announcement Tuesday that he would not seek re-election immediately sparked speculation over who might take over his place, with Franklin & Marshall College analyst Terry Madonna suggesting in an interview that a young gun like state Rep. Mike Gerber might make a play for a leadership post.
But one Democratic legislator dismissed the idea any third-term lawmaker could make it, no matter how much money he or she raises. Others have suggested state Rep. Dave Levdansky might vie for a leadership position.
Speaking of McCall, his longtime friend Rep. Peter Daley said in an interview the two lawmakers discussed McCall possibly making a gubernatorial bid in four years. Which raises the question, is the speaker actually retiring to quietly assemble a campaign for governor?
We won’t hold our breath.
House Democrats made Allegheny County lawmaker Frank Dermody their new majority whip after Bill DeWeese was indicted. But will Dermody still be there after this year? A GOP source tells PoliticsPA his opponent last year, Jason Davidek, is seriously considering another run, although he has yet to make a decision.
Dermody beat Davidek by 2 percentage points, 600 votes, in 2008. This year, however, will likely be harder on Democrats and General Assembly incumbent in general.
Finally, news that state Rep. Curt Schroder is furious about effectively being shoved out of the 6th District congressional race is common knowledge among southeast Republicans. Can you blame him? The state lawmaker wrote on his Facebook account that he received assurances from Jim Gerlach he would not return to run in the district, and he had already campaigned and raised money for nearly six months.
It will be interesting to see what that grassroots favorite will do if his former opponent, Steve Welch, tries to run a primary against Gerlach.
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