Dwight Evans. The Philadelphia Daily News and Public School Notebook caught Rep. Evans attempting to obscure his role in dictating which charter operator would run a Northwest Philadelphia school. The prevailing portrait of Evans was less than flattering – disruptive, dishonest, and dedicated to a company that just so happened to contribute thousands to his campaigns in recent years.
Marc Scaringi. The U.S. Senate long shot got some local press this week for a visit to southwest PA, and it’s no surprise why. It’s inevitable that someone so busy would earn a few headlines. Scaringi has been traveling back and forth across the Commonwealth in the past several weeks, speaking with Tea Party groups, gun rights groups, the PA Constitution Party, toured a Marcellus gas well and more.
Mark Critz. As if Rep. Critz didn’t have enough worries with his district on the chopping block through redistricting, now the NRCC is blasting his district with robocalls blaming him for high gas prices.
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Health care reform law. On the first anniversary of President Obama signing it into law, the battle continued over the Affordable Care Act. Republicans won the PR battle with a high-profile presser featuring Governor Corbett, while Democrats highlighted the benefits the law has already brought. Both sides know that the more people get used to the new benefits, the more politically difficult it will be for the GOP to push for a repeal.
D. Raja. With the unexpected departure of Tea Party leader Patti Weaver from the Allegheny County exec race, businessman Raja is looking like the front runner. He’s got the personal wealth to raise his name ID and is increasingly the choice of the GOP activists there. His opponent has a golden Irish name and has beaten the odds before, but it will be very tough in a two-man race for Chuck McCullough to escape his pending legal issues (allegedly defrauding a widow for campaign contributions).
Joe Sestak. The Admiral Congressman is back in his wheelhouse: wonkishly analyzing military issues on cable television. Sestak staked out a position as a critic to the administration on the situation in Libya, and he’s been on TV half a dozen times to talk about it. On top of that, PoliticsPA gets the impression that a number of Dems would like to recruit him to challenge Pat Meehan in 2012.