PoliticsPA’s Harrisburg Superlatives, a wealthy self-funder looks at challenging Casey, the NRCC swings at former Rep. Murphy, and another angle of Corbett’s budget takes heat.

Submit your ideas for Harrisburg lawmaker superlatives. Who’s the best orator? Most likely to succeed? Best dressed? Most likely to be on camera? Biggest bookworm? You name it.

Alex Roarty of the National Journal (and formerly of PoliticsPA) has an exclusive report this morning that Dicks Sporting Goods CEO Ed Stack is talking to GOP higher ups about a possible challenge to Senator Bob Casey.

It seems that being out of office isn’t enough to protect former Rep. Murphy from the political barbs of the NRCC, which just sent out a release hammering him on the one year anniversary of his vote for the health care reform law.

Sestak’s “The Switch” ad, an opprobrium of Arlen Specter switching parties, won the award for “Best Use of Negative” at the Pollies last weekend.

Budget battles continue, the GOP finds consensus on Congressional redistricting, and ballot challenges begin.

Pennsylvania is a swing state, pure and simple. A large number of political offices here can switch parties any given year. It’s no surprise then, that three of our state’s own political operatives made a national “Dream Team” during the American Association of Political Consultants (AAPC) annual conference in Washington.

Governor Corbett released his budget last week and as he promised, no taxes of any kind were raised. However, because of the dramatic cuts to aid to school districts throughout Pennsylvania, local governments may be forced to raise taxes on their citizens to avoid significant cuts to their local schools.

This is the run down of various points of GOP consensus so far. Republicans are growing closer to consensus on plans for Congressional redistricting and the map that they’re describing sounds very similar to that published last week by the Cook Political Report.

Gov. Corbett made his first trip to the Scranton area Thursday morning since announcing his not-so-popular budget plan, and protesters had a few St. Patrick’s Day messages to deliver. His budget? “Blarney.” His plan to tap into the state’s natural gas resource? “No fracking way.”