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PA8: Elections Analyst Says Race now Leans Democratic

Some welcome news for the GOP in Pennsylvania.

Despite appearing to be on the verge of losing some seats in Pennsylvania for the U.S. House, in part to the new Congressional map, election analyst, Inside Elections, believes a race is tightening in Northeast Pennsylvania.     

Inside Elections changed the race in PA-8 between incumbent (D) U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright and GOP challenger John Chrin from “Likely Democrat” to “Leans Democrat”.

Chrin’s campaign credits the rating as a swing in momentum starting from recently being added to the NRCC’s “Young Guns” and earning the endorsement from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB).

In a statement celebrating the news, Chrin said, “insuring that the tax cuts are not overturned, excessive regulations go away, and there are opportunities for new job creation. My opponent, Matthew Cartwright, voted against the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and supports its repeal.”

Both candidates have used the GOP tax reform bill to pin against one another.

“Make no mistake that this election is the most important in a generation and the voters here have a chance to set the very direction of our country and the next Congress,” said Cartwright. “I stand with Pennsylvania’s hardworking families and against tax cuts for big corporations and millionaires.

Chrin’s campaign has touted his background in the private sector as a “outsider and successful business leader with over twenty years of experience in the financial services sector.”

Cartwright pushed back on these claims and believes his opponent is a “Wall Street banker… who made his fortune while hardworking families were losing their jobs and their homes.”

24 Responses

  1. The editors of this site should probably include the previous ranking when writing headlines about these changes: “PA8: Elections Analyst Says Race now Leans Democratic” reads as positive for Cartwright.

  2. I read the Inside Elections Newsletter yesterday so I know what I am talking about. The newsletter moved the race into Lean Dem for the reason that Chrin can and will self fund and that for that reason alone moves the district into that category. My understanding of Pennsylvania politics tells me that this area has not had a Republican Rep in Congress since 1980 to 82 (generally speaking as the district has changed shape here and there). Cartwright will campaign and will have funding and will win. Trump circus, Supreme Court pick energy, Stormy Daniels, Michael Cohen, Border fiasco, children being taken as toddlers at the borders from their parents–all will lead to a Dem victory.

    1. Ever heard of Tom Marino, Lou Bartletta or Joe McDade? They’ve all represented significant portions of this district.

  3. Anybody who votes Republican this year is playing lapdog to the Koch Brothers and their ultrarich friends who don’t give a damn about your kid’s preexisting condition.

  4. Chrin made his fortune the hard way from the ground up and before the market crash and poor policies which led to family hardships, however Cartwright was in Congress during that time and supported policy like the ACH which caused health insurance to spiral out of reach for families who now pay premiums double what they used to while having to reach higher deductibles before seeing any benefit. Chrin was born in PA with roots here in the 8th district he lived more of his life in PA than not and understands first hand the need for sustaining jobs locally.

    1. You neglect to mention that he has lived almost his entire adult life as a resident of Short Hills, NJ an affluent community where the average annual household income was $354,479 last year. The average home value was $1.75 MILLION in 2012. A real man of the people, this one. And he was working on Wall Street, the investment excesses of which caused the market crash of 2008. You say Cartwright was in Congress at that time: FALSE. Cartwright didn’t begin his Congressional tenure until 2013.

      1. To be fair, Cartwright MAY have supported ACH, who I think is a professional wrestler. Other than that, all of Dawn’s talking points are complete nonsense. Then again, she probably got them from the Moonies, who own the Pike County GOP, so what can you expect?

  5. Chrin is a fantastic candidate. Degrees in Economics, Industrial Engineering and an MBA? Was a Managing Director at JPMC and then joined his wife Maria (a native of Honduras) at her Wealth Management firm that services 80% women? And after all that, he is a humble, honest man.

    I think Chrin may do God’s work here and finally get rid of Matt Cartwright, the least effective member of Congress, who does nothing and stares aimlessly with his mouth open, where the occasional fly can be seen flying in.

    Goodbye Matt, I would say it’s been nice knowing you, but it honestly hasn’t. Can’t wait to hear your stupid lawfirm all over the radio again.

      1. Yep.. The average annual household income there (Short Hills)was $354,479, according to Bloomberg. He should take his Wall Street Investment Banker “values” back there.

  6. At some point the Republican scam of doing more huge tax cuts for the top 1% is going to fail with middle class voters. They got away with it for Reagan, Bush and now Trump to give away huge amounts to the ultra rich. At some point the federal governments lost income is going to have to be fixed. It will probably take an event like a world war III to actually make Congress raise the taxes back to a respectable level to provide the revenue the federal government actually needs. Trumps tax cuts are rapidly proving again – give the rich a dollar and they will snap it up and keep it to themselves. VOTERS – stop buying the Republican scam that big tax breaks for the top 1% will somehow benefit the working class. All it is going to do is allow the Republicans to take away your social security and medicare. VOTE DEM IN NOVEMBER OR THEY’RE COMING FOR YOUR SS.

    1. I received $81 dollars more a paycheck under the new tax bill and I am far from the 1%. Unemployment is at an all time low. Minority unemployment is at an all time low. The stock market is soaring. Our GDP is growing at an above average rate of 2.3% which is helping to account for the many, many months that it was under the 2.0% threshold.

      Why does it hurt you so bad to agree that Republicans are doing something well? I agree with Dems on plenty of topics. Stop drinking the koolaid and side with what is best for our country and the people in it.

      1. Whup dee doo! You got 81 dollars more. You’re swimming in dough! Do you have any idea how silly you sound? Take your new world odor and stuff it someplace where the sun don’t shine.

        1. The Liberal Lion must be Nancy Pelosi’s burner account. Hey Nancy, sorry by $81 every two weeks adds up for most Americans, I mean..maybe not the liberal elite. $2,000 extra a year for families to buy food, diapers and maybe even save for retirement?

          That’s a HUGE DEAL when you realize that most families in poverty make less than $26,000 a year. 1/13 of their yearly income being added? You are a perfect example of why the Democratic party is going to shit because of far left wingnuts and wild old era dems who just don’t give a shit about the everyday working people of the country.

          BTW, next time try some substance and facts instead of making yourself look even more like an idiot.

          Thanks for playing,
          EBC4

          1. Your $81 per paycheck is being paid by PRINTING MONEY. In other words, paid by the biggest deficit in US history…already well underway. Your kids and grandkids will have to figure how to pay it off.

      2. The trend line hasn’t changed much since 2010. GDP growth isn’t much different than it was under Obama, and it hit 3 percent or higher on at least eight different quarters under Obama. Unemployment figures were already approaching full employment when Obama left office. I don’t think Republicans are doing something well so much as they inherited a strong economy that has continued to grow.

        Cutting taxes in periods of growth is not sound economic policy and will almost certainly backfire, especially combined with absolutely asinine trade policy.

        You run deficits in downturns and pay it back when the economy is up. You don’t give a sweetheart deal to corporations so they can buy back stock and pay out big dividends while throwing the middle class a bone to go along with it. This wasn’t a middle class tax cut, it was a massive tax cut for the ultra-wealthy with some middle class window dressing.

        The stated goals of the tax cut are already being shown to be farce – investment (which I mean in the economic sense of the word) is not up, wages are still lagging, and the yield curve is flattening. This should be deeply concerning to everyone, regardless of political affiliation.

        Polling suggests consumer confidence among Republicans has largely been purely partisan. Despite all of these things about the economy being true for eight years, the majority of Republicans haven’t expressed confidence in the economy until Trump was elected. That’s not shrewd economic observation, it’s just tribal partisanship.

      3. Yes, you got $81. But you could have gotten more if the tax cut was structured so you got $162 or $243, and the 1% got a smaller cut. But that wasn’t the GOP’s intent. They gave you just enough to make you forget that there was an alternative way to cut taxes to benefit the working man and not the Wall Streeter. If we were going to explode the debt, why not do it to give people like you more?

        1. I’d rather have my 2k a year than have Nancy Pelosi be speaker and raise taxes on everything, which would put middle class families in. the ground.

          I agree the tax cut could have been structured a million different ways that would have been better for the middle class. You are certainly correct in that. But the fact is they got SOMETHING done for the American taxpayer.

  7. John Chrin is an outsider, alright – outside the district, outside the state…

    1. Chrin was born in PA with roots here in the 8th district he lived more of his life in PA than not and understands first hand the need for sustaining jobs locally.

      1. NEWS FLASH: He has no roots in the 8th Congressional District. He just bought a house here a few weeks ago — only because he is squirming to avoid the Carpetbagger label. You appear to know as little about this CD as Chrin does.

  8. cartright needs to take chrin’s touting private background and turn it around…private sector isn’t running to help public sector, taxpayers or workers. just look at what has happened to our institutions so far thanks to private sector destroying our institutions.

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