Ummm...well, given that you work in Center City, that is no surprise to me. Try going out to West Philadephia or North Philadelphia, and you will find a little different picture. (I live in North Philadelphia, unfortunately).
I don't think Swann has run an abysmal campaign by any stretch of the imagination. What I look for is whether the candidate is showing signs of growth, and I am very happy with Swann's progress. So what if he made a mistake on the ramifications of overturning Roe? I'm a freaking law student, and am not sure what would happen, cuz it would depend on the ruling.
Hopefully, the Pa. GOP will learn that it really doesn't pay to annoint your candidate. They figured after Mike Fisher's candidacy, anyone would look positively awesome. They were wrong.
They assumed by uniting early and annointing a candidate that Swann would benefit by not having to spend a lot during a primary. And, he'd be able to pile up a warchest to at least be competitive with Rendell. Instead, Swann is way behind in fundraising (and his response is to whine that Rendell is strong-arming people not to contribute.....welcome to the real world, Lynn) and is sinking in the polls, although I don't put a lot of stock in them. He's not particularly energizing the base, he hasn't been able to generate any real positive coverage or excitement among the base. His only hope at this point, and it's slim, would be to demolish Rendell in the debates and that's not going to happen.
He would have had a better shot had he been vetted by going through actual primaries. Yes, it costs money, but what it also does is allow you to test your message and to figure out the best way to get it across. Swann didn't even start putting out position statements until 6 months past the primary. He's still trying to get his feet under him on the campaign trail. That might have had a shot in 2010 but it doesn't stand a snowball's chance in you know where against Rendell. As much as I loathe the man (and have told him so to his face) and his positions, he is a veteran at campaigning.