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Wyda Out; Stabile Has Clear Path to Superior Court Nom

VicStabile
Vic Stabile

Allegheny County Judge Ron Wyda has withdrawn his name from the ballot in the Republican primary for Pa. Superior Court. His departure leaves Cumberland County attorney Vic Stabile with a clear path to the nomination.

State Department records show Wyda officially ended his candidacy Wednesday.

The GOP state committee overwhelmingly endorsed Stabile during its winter meeting.

Briefly, Wyda’s candidacy was a rallying point for anti-establishment conservatives who oppose the practice of party nominations.

Democratic voters must decide between Philadelphia Judge Joe Waters and Allegheny County Judge Jack McVay.

Stabile lost the 2011 Superior Court race to Democrat David Wecht.

Update: Wyda issued a withdrawal statement. In part:

There is no dishonor in withdrawing; quite the opposite. We’ve made our mark: won Central Caucus at the Republican State Committee, flexed our muscles by obtaining nearly 2,000 signatures to get on the ballot. The highest levels of the Pennsylvania Republican Party have noticed our campaign. We have built much goodwill and many bridges for the future. To recognize our weaknesses, re-group, re-organize, and be stronger and more prepared for another day’s battle is the wisest course of action. We live to fight another day…and prevail.

Update: Wyda apparently called PAGOP Chair Gleason, who emailed this to party members:

I wanted to let all of you know that I received a call from Rob Wyda. He called to let me know that he has withdrawn his candidacy for the Superior Court, and that he will support our Party’s endorsed candidate, Vic Stabile.

I appreciate Rob’s support and wish him the best of luck as he continues to serve as a Magisterial District Judge in Allegheny County and his future pursuits. I hope all of our members are ready to double their efforts for Vic and I look forward to focusing on winning this critical race with you in November.

11 Responses

  1. I am familiar with Mr. Wyda’s accomplishments as Bethel Park magistrate as well as his personal integrity – he will be an exceptional public servant and deserves the support of his party and the voters in the future

  2. Judge Rob Wyda is a future star in Pa. state politics. In his district, Democrats and Republicans both respect his decisions.

  3. Delco, Wecht had superior name recognition and finances to Stabile. You also had a mayor’s race in Philly and Fitz running for AGH Exec against Raja. Waters or McVay won’t have any of this going for either of them. Stabile did a nice job against a very challenging opponent. If the GOP wanted to lose another state appellate race they would’ve supported Wyda. He has no support network or fundraising ability, Vic does.

  4. “He called to let me know that he has withdrawn his candidacy for the Superior Court, and that he will support our Party’s endorsed candidate, Vic Stabile.”
    -PAGOP Chair Rob Gleason admitting MDJ Wyda’s breach of Judicial Canons.

    Someone should tell Mr. Gleason that he has placed Judge Wyda into a violation of the ethical rules governing judges…Wyda is a Magisterial District Judge and is precluded by ethical rules from supporting candidates for partisan public office unless it is himself or another judicial candidate running on a ticket with him. Judge Wyda, you must report yourself to the ethics authorities…as is your professional obligation…and thank Chairman Gleason for doing it to you!

  5. Wyda was given a very vague promise with a wink and a nod of future support from the state party for a future run. I actually feel bad for Wyda. As they say fool me once…..

  6. Ron Wyda would have made an excellent candidate for Superior Court. The Republican establishment really owes him a debt of gratitude, and should slate him for Superior Court in 2015.

  7. How disappointing. The sad thing is that this is not the people’s election rather it is the PAGOP who picks winners and losers. If they have picked the wrong candidate for us to all vote for then it will show up in both voter turnout as well as the final result as it has been in the past. One can’t expect a different result if the same mistake is repeated.

  8. Stabile lost the last election to Wecht…expecting a repeat of that for him again. He would have been better served by a primary he could win like one against Wyda…this was a mistake to hand him the clear path to the nomination.

  9. Actually Bob, Republicans have been doing very well in off year and local elections and that should greatly help Vic Stabile…

  10. Bob – This is a republican year and Vic will be a heavy favorite going into the general. He doesn’t have to spend any money in the primary and with no serious democratic races in Philly/PGH in the fall he should win by 7 or 8 points.

  11. This is discouraging. I do not think a Republican can win in a statewide off year election because Democrats are far better organized and because there are more Democratic voters than Republicans.

    The 21 May primary will be a win for insiders. Too bad. Lowering the morale of grassroots base is not helpful in winning elections.

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