Kathleen Kane overcame the strength of the entrenched support of SEPA for Patrick Murphy to win the nomination of her party for Attorney General. In a speech just before midnight, Patrick Murphy conceded to Kathleen Kane.
Murphy thanked his supporters in his concession speech and said, “When the going gets tough, you learn who your true friends are. All of you have worked long hours for me and I deeply appreciate it.”
He continued, “This is not the end, we are just turning the page.”
Kane will face Cumberland County District Attorney David Freed in November.
Patrick Murphy, a former professor at West Point and congressman from Bucks County whose accomplishments include shepherding the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” through the U.S. House of Representatives could not garner enough support outside of his home base to declare victory.
In Philadelphia, Patrick Murphy earned over 60% of the vote. In Murphy’s home county of Bucks, he got over 70% of the vote.
On the other hand, Kathleen Kane earned 51% of the vote in Pittsburgh-based Allegheny County. In her home county of Lackawanna, she earned 82% of the vote.
She got 57% of the vote in Butler County and 62% in Beaver County. In Harrisburg-based Dauphin County, she got 62% of the vote.
In the end, Kane won the places she needed to to overcome the Philadelphia advantage on which Murphy had been counting.
Kane’s Republican opponent, David Freed, released the following statement:
“This evening Cumberland County District Attorney and candidate for Pennsylvania Attorney General, David Freed, received the GOP nomination for the office of Attorney General.
“I’m honored and grateful to accept the Republican nomination for Pennsylvania Attorney General,” said Freed. “The general election begins right now. Our team is well-prepared for the road ahead and we’re looking forward to an honest, substantive and lively debate on how best to ensure the safety and security of our seniors, families, communities and businesses.”
Freed continued, “I applaud the winners this evening and all of the candidates who had the courage to place their names on the ballot. I also congratulate my opponent this November, Kathleen Kane. I look forward to a substantive and spirited general election campaign.”
Issues likely to come up in the campaign will be the Penn State sex scandal and corruption in the General Assembly. On Penn State, Kane has said she will educate educational institutions on reporting requirements, instruct schools to report abuse to the Police and Child Protective Services and open the CHILDLINE database to law enforcement.
Kane also has said she will not let party affiliation affect her ability to take on public officials if they engage in corruption.
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14 Responses
As a Republican, I welcome Kane as Freed’s opponent. She cannot argue that Freed is Corbett’s boy. She was Corbett’s girl with her contribution to his campaign. Like I said before, why would we elect an ADA over a DA for this position? Her 24 cases won’t stand up to Freed’s long prosecutorial history. Looks like the Dems got this one wrong.
On the bright side, he probably could be elected Mayor of New Hope.
Well, maybe just on Foursquare, but, hey, beggars can’t be choosers.
Say goodbye to Murphy’s political career! Thank God!
I was proud to be a Pennsylvanian with Patrick Murphy as my representative. He stands for strong Democratic values and did not pander to the right when the going got tough. Politicians like Tom Corbett, Rick Santorum and Mike Fitzpatrick – how ludicrous to call the sitting President of the US a traitor – are making a laughingstock of Pennsylvania. This is certainly not the end tot Patrick Murphy.
Murphy put up a good fight against a multi-million dollar TV campaign. He is a dedicated, hard-working, principled man, and would have also made a great A.G. This is the year of the woman, however, because of the pending ultrasound bill and Corbett’s attack on women’s rights. And Bill Clinton’s stump speech for Kane was the tipping point.
We wish Kane well. But I know we haven’t heard the last from Murphy.
I wish people would stop with the vile comments.
Both Dem candidates are good people, and they will both go far.
I guess Murphy shouldn’t have said that he’d pick and choose which laws he’d enforce based on his own personal beliefs, rather than the will of the people. That was pretty damn scary.
T-
1) It was only $500 compared to over $20,000 for Dems. She stated that it was her acknowledgment/thank you for some corruption he had successfully prosecuted.
2) Being the lead prosecutor on a case (even one settled/pleaded out of court) counts as a case she prosecuted. So, 3000 cases of which two dozen went to trial. (Murphy was 0 cases and 0 trials)
3) Yes, she supports woman’s right to choose.
Any other questions?
As for Murphy turning the page: it reads “The End”
Question: with Pat Murphy now gone, will Keegan keep his man-crush on Pat??? Somewhere porr Keegan is pining away!!!!!!!! HA HA HA
Congrats to Kane. Frankly, as a Republican, I wish Murphy would’ve won because he would have been far easier for us to beat. She has a real record. We would have torn him to shreds. He had no business ever running for AG in the first place. Just not qualified.
I’ll never figure Murphy. Ton of ambition, but needs a reality check. He’s not very bright and was lucky to win in ’06 with the Dem wave. He’s now lost two big races. It’s over.
“He continued, “This is not the end, we are just turning the page.”’
Oh, dear sweet adorable baby Jesus. Dude, it’s the end. It was the end the minute you voted for Obamacare. What’s your next humiliating defeat? Bucks County doesn’t even have an elected dog catcher, but if we did you’d lose that, too.
I belive the Bill Clinton endorsement made the difference. To win 74% of the vote in Erie County where Bill Clinton is popular when you are not from there is impressive. Kane was the stronger candidate for the general election. I believe she will win and receive a healthy percentage of votes from Republican women.
Kathleen Kane needs to answer a few questions for Pennsylvania Democrats:
1) Why did she make a $500 donation to Tom Corbett’s gubernatorial campaign in 2010?
2) How many cases did she really prosecute as Assistant DA in Lackawanna County – is 24 as the Patriot News suggests or over 3000 as Kane suggests?
3) Does Kathleen Kane support a woman’s right to choose?
Comments like that are clearly much more difficult to write on an iPhone on Amtrak at midnight.
You can believe whatever you want about Patrick Murphy, but take it from someone who has knows him well: our commonwealth would be far better off if we had more people like Patrick walking around. His passion and energy are contagious, and he inspires the best in those around him.
I congratulate Kathleen Kane on her victory and wish her well in November. But make no mistake You can believe whatever you want about Patrick Murphy, but take it from someone who has knows him well: our commonwealth would be far better off if we had more people like Patrick walking around. His passion and energy are contagious, and he inspires the best in those around him.
I congratulate Kathleen Kane on her victory and wish her well in November. But make no mistake about it, guys like Patrick Murphy don’t just quit after they get knocked down, they get back up again stronger than before.