In the first head-to-head poll since the primary last month, Bob Casey boasts a solid lead over Republican opponent Tom Smith: 49 to 33 percent. But Casey’s approval leaves room for growth. Also: Kane leads Freed for AG, and the first poll numbers in the Auditor and Treasurer races.

The grades are in, and PA’s members of Congress slightly outperform the grade level of the average speaker in Washington, DC. Take a look at this analysis of congressional speeches to see who got the best score (and who got the worst).

In a bit of bipartisanship, Senators Casey and Toomey spoke warmly of Matthew Brann and Malachy E. Mannion, the judicial nominees to the US District Court of the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

A plan to balance the federal budget proposed by Sen. Pat Toomey was voted down by the Senate 42 to 57 on Wednesday, but still garnered more votes than any other proposal.

The U.S. Senate hasn’t passed a budget in over 3 years, and Tom Smith today laid the blame on Senate Democrats, including his opponent Bob Casey. In an online petition, the Republican hopeful backed a No Budget, No Pay measure – but stopped short of endorsing any specific spending proposal.

The national political discourse turned sharply toward gay marriage and other LGBT rights issues this week on President Obama’s announcement that he supports gay marriage. The contrast is slightly less stark in the U.S. Senate contest.

For months as the GOP Senate candidates held forums, debates and made TV appearances across Pennsylvania. The PA Dems tracked almost every one, and today unveiled a compilation of clips of nominee Tom Smith’s Tea Party past.

Republicans nominated former coal company owner Tom Smith on Tuesday, but the self-funder’s name on the ballot didn’t inch PA up on the National Journal’s competitiveness scale compared to other races in the country.

Now that Mitt Romney has the GOP nomination in the bag, the biggest national question is who will join his ticket. One name that’s stayed on the margins of the discussion – but still mentioned – is Senator Pat Toomey. Do you think he has a shot?

Sam Rohrer, the former state lawmaker who rode his grassroots conservative support to a second place finish in Tuesday’s U.S. Senate primary, has thrown his support behind GOP nominee Tom Smith.

Did you get a chance to relax and sleep in this morning, Tom Smith campaign? Good. Hope you enjoyed it. It’s your last time before November. The PA Dems wasted no time in launching an assault on the GOP nominee for U.S. Senate Wednesday.