By Brittany Foster, Contributing Writer

He’s leaving Madison, but this time his location won’t be a secret.

The Pennsylvania Democratic Party will feature Wisconsin State Senator Jon Erpenbach as their keynote speaker at this year’s Keystone Dinner.

America’s Dairyland has gotten quite a bit of focus this year as a result of labor conflicts with conservative Governor Scott Walker. Democrats recently wrested two state Senate seats away from the GOP in resulting special elections.

“From Governor Scott Walker’s attempts to strip American workers of basic rights, to the legislature’s clever ways of protecting themselves and the state from being steamrolled over, to the efforts to successfully recall two sitting Republican state senators, the action in Wisconsin captured the attention of the entire country,” said PA Democratic Party Chairman Jim Burn in an email to Pennsylvania Democrats.

Erpenbach was at the forefront of these battles and he appeared on countless media outlets to rally support for his party’s causes. Pennsylvania Democrats are hoping to capture some of the Wisconsin magic.

The dinner will be held Friday, September 9th at 7:30 pm during the Fall State Committee Meeting in Gettysburg, PA.  The cost is $55 per person, $100 per couple to attend the dinner and reception with state party members, State Senator Erpenbach and U.S. Senator Bob Casey.

Interestingly enough, the Keynote Speaker of the Republican State Committee dinner is another Wisconsin native, RNC Chairman Reince Priebus. It’s not entirely a coincidence.

“The announcement of Priebus turned an idea we were batting around into our top target/idea,” said Dem spokesman Mark nicastre. “We thought the contrast would be very strong and very helpful.”

The Keystone Dinner is one part of the State Committee meeting which will also feature online tools for elections, best practices for voter turnout and an overview of delegate selection.