By Alex Roarty
PoliticsPA Staff Writer
roarty@politicspa.com

Joe Sestak’s campaign is challenging the nominating petitions of Joseph Vodvarka, a Western Pennsylvania Democrat who unexpectedly made the primary ballot after, at least initially, gathering enough signatures.

The campaign filed the formal challenge to the petitions Tuesday in Commonwealth Court.

“Pennsylvania has clear rules about what is required to be on the ballot,” said Manly Parks, legal counsel for Sestak’s campaign, in a statement. “It is always appropriate to make sure that those rules have been followed and that each candidate has demonstrated they have at least the minimum level of support required by law.

“This challenge has been brought for the simple reason that Joseph Vodvarka has not submitted the legally-required minimum number of valid signatures required to entitle him to be on the ballot as a candidate in the Democratic Primary for United States Senate,” he said.

Vodvarka, a small business owner from Allegheny County, has received almost no media attention for his U.S. Senate campaign, but his roots in the state’s western half could help him siphon votes from either Arlen Specter or Sestak.

The Specter campaign, which issued a statement about the challenge Tuesday night, said it was hypocritical of Sestak to try to knock Vodvarka off the ballot.

“Congressman Sestak has spent months saying that his was a new type of campaign, dedicated to changing Washington, D.C. and the Senate,” said Specter’s campaign manager, Chris Nicholas. “But challenging Mr. Vodvarka’s petition signatures is a vivid example of old style back-room politics as usual.”