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9/19 Ups & Downs

The Philly Mayoral race fills up quickly, Gov. Corbett gets more bad news and Rep. Fitzpatrick caps off a great week. See who made this week’s list!

Up ArrowPhilly Democratic Mayoral Primary. While we’ve been spending all our time on the Governor’s race and all the other elections coming this November, there was an avalanche of activity in the 2015 Democratic primary for Philly mayor. While Terry Gillen entered the race earlier this month, two (and perhaps three) candidates indicated this week that they’ll also be running. First, ex-City Solicitor Ken Trujillo officially announced his candidacy with the customary press conference. That same day, former DA Lynne Abraham stated that she intends to run. Then, on Thursday former Court of Common Pleas judge Nelson Diaz hinted at his own candidacy. Suffice to say, the Democratic field will be crowded.

Down ArrowTom Corbett. Gov. Corbett received some bad news from yet another group of political analysts. Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball changed their rating of the PA-Gov race from “Lean Democratic” to “Likely Democratic”. Managing Editor Kyle Kondik even called the Governor a “goner”. It was also announced this week that Auditor General Eugene DePasquale will investigate $48 million in “undisclosed funds” concerning Corbett’s HealthyPA plan. Perhaps the Gov’s attack ad on Wolf will show some effect in the future. For now, though, it was another tough week for the Governor.

Up Arrow1Mike Fitzpatrick. Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick’s great week actually started late last Friday when Rothenberg Political Report changed its characterization of the PA-8 race from “Republican Favored” to “Currently Safe” for the GOP. Then yesterday Americans for Responsible Solutions, Gabby Giffords’ PAC, unveiled a TV ad they’re airing in support of Fitzpatrick and released a poll showing the incumbent with a thirty point lead. While the poll is far from impartial it is the first to be released to the public and shows Fitzpatrick with a strong advantage.

Up Arrow1Down ArrowRyan Costello. This month so many campaigns have launched their first TV ads, that it might have been easy to miss Ryan Costello’s. Still the Republican nominee beat his opponent to the air with a biographical spot. It was also revealed this week that Costello will receive the active support of the NRA, perhaps the strongest and most controversial interest group in the country. Which explains our split decision, until it’s clear what effect the NRA’s involvement will have it’s too early to call the support a victory.

Up Arrow1Shaughnessy Naughton. 2014 has been a tough year for Naughton. After rallying against party favorite Kevin Strouse in the PA-8 Democratic primary, she fell just 817 votes short of victory. Then, she prepared to step into the State Senate race for the 10th district when party leaders urged her on, only to be denied when Democratic nominee Steve Cickay refused to drop out. Now, though, Naughton has created a new PAC that the chemist hopes will encourage more STEM professionals to seek office. It’s a great reminder that political careers never die, they just go into PACs to hibernate.

The tweet of the week goes to the Washington Post’s Colby Itkowitz in honor of Constitution Day.

5 Responses

  1. Defeating Corbett and Costello will send a message- both are political hacks who stand for very little. At least Wolf and Trivedi stand for something-agree or disagree.

  2. It would be interesting for someone to tally the total number of up arrows and down arrows for each Mr. Corbett and Mr. Wolf, say from Jan. 1, 2014 to the present, sometime before the election.

  3. Naughton sure has gotten a lot of mileage out of a very short career as a scientist. After hindering two separate Democratic campaigns in one election season, she’ll grab money for herself that Democratic candidates sorely need today. Naughton came out of the woodwork and did such favors for the Republicans that she should admit she is one.

  4. While his intern is busy tweeting the Constitution perhaps Darrell Issa can spend some time reading it.

  5. “DePasquale will investigate $48 million in “undisclosed funds” concerning Corbett’s HealthyPA plan. “-PPA

    Mr. Corbett , maybe you don’t need a criminal Lawyer, you need a CRIMINAL lawyer.
    Better call Saul…Justin Case

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