Dan Onorato, the front-running Democratic gubernatorial candidate received a big boost early this week when campaign finance reports showed him with almost $6 million more on hand than his three inter-party opponents. As the finances stand now, only Onorato has enough money to make his presence felt on TV. Joe Hoeffel, Jack Wagner and Chris Doherty must convince donors they are viable enough to merit continued contributions to their campaigns.
Pennsylvania’s Democratic state committee is making its way to Lancaster as we speak. The trouble is, Mother Nature is on her way, too. The committee is meeting this weekend to make official endorsements in the 2010 races, but without a quorum (2/3 of the 400 members), a vote can’t take place. With a potentially massive snowstorm on the way up the East Coast, some Dems are worried that too many no-shows will spoil the event. But, for some of the dark horse candidates (read Joe Sestak), no endorsement is good news.
Jonathan Saidel. The lieutenant governor candidate from Philadelphia boosted his chances at nabbing the Democratic nomination with a strong fundraising effort last year. He has $700,000 cash on hand, more than any Democratic gubernatorial candidate besides Onorato. With his Philadelphia roots and support from U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, Saidel seems poised to offer a stiff challenge should someone like Doherty decide to compete for the state’s No. 2 job.
Former speaker of the House, majority leader and majority whip Bill DeWeese had a rough week. Mike Veon’s defense attorneys did their best to paint him as a criminal mastermind in charge of the House Democrats’ illegal bonus operation. His former chief of staff, Mike Manzo, testified that DeWeese wasn’t involved, but only because he was more interested in lobbyists taking him to dinner than running the caucus. The former House leader said Thursday he will seek re-election despite facing his own indictment in connection with “Bonusgate,” but after narrow wins the last two elections, this outsized personality might be facing his final days in Harrisburg.
Demon sheep. These days, campaigns can find it difficult to cut through our society’s cluttered, fragmented media landscape to deliver their message to voters. But if there’s one thing we learned this week, it’s that dressing a grown-man in a sheep costume and giving him the devil’s red beady eyes will spark wall-to-wall coverage in both national and local media. Pennsylvania campaigns, take note: Doing something as equally weird and bizarre will earn you scores of stories from this site, even if we’re constantly making fun of you. All publicity is good publicity, right?
Amid rumors that Scranton Mayor Chris Doherty might be positioning himself to vie for liutenant gvernor instead of governor, Doherty’s wife sent out an email urging supporters to vote to support an Onorato/Doherty ticket (presumably with Doherty as LG), which isn’t exactly on message with Doherty’s campaign. Doherty’s spokesman made it clear that Doherty has not dropped out of the governor’s race, but that’s not the kind of slipup you want in a crowded primary fight.
Tags: Up & Down
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