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Posted on 10/20/2012 5:27:34 PM PDT by kristinn
For months, Pennsylvania was considered a cakewalk for Democrats, with Sen. Bob Casey easily cruising to reelection and its 20 electoral votes in the bag for President Barack Obama.
But enter Republican Tom Smith and his personal fortune, and suddenly the Keystone State has the potential of upending the national political landscape. Buoyed by a tightening presidential race here, Smith — a no-name GOP Senate candidate and self-funding multi-millionaire — has suddenly made Republicans bullish about picking off the Keystone State to make Mitch McConnell majority leader and Mitt Romney more competitive here.
“He wasn’t on any endangered list,” Rep. Bob Brady, the Democratic congressman from the Philadelphia area, said of Casey. “But he is now.”
What’s happening in Pennsylvania reflects a national trend: Romney has risen in the polls following his first debate performance, giving him new opportunities in states seen as prime Democratic terrain. And a rapidly shifting Senate landscape has prompted GOP leaders to reassess Democratic-leaning states like Connecticut and Pennsylvania, putting the Northeast suddenly at the heart of the GOP’s dwindling hopes of winning a Senate majority
SNIP
Polls have shown there’s a reason for Republicans to believe they have some hope here. Two public polls in the past 10 days have suggested that Smith’s ad campaign — where he’s dubbed Casey as an “invisible senator” — has erased the Democrat’s double digit lead, dropping his lead down to single digits, with an Allentown Morning Call poll even putting the Democrat’s advantage at 2 points. According to a Quinnipiac poll, Romney has sliced Obama’s 12-point lead down to 4, while a GOP poll released Friday even put Romney ahead by 4 points here, and Smith up by 2.
SNIP
From Huffington Post tonight:
Mitt Romney's Campaign, RNC Have 60+ Staffers In Pennsyvania, Planning More
(Excerpt) Read more at dyn.politico.com ...
Pennsylvania is, and should be considered a red state but for a corrupt and willfully inept state GOP, in particular the patronage machine in philly. Philly as a city is depopulated, the populationleft is solidly D, but the western suburbs aren’t contested for some reason.
Casey is a stunningly fragile candidate, he has no record to run on, had no record to run on, and hides whenever challenged, hoping the elderly think he’s his dead father. His tv commercials are comically inept, yet there is some idiot conventional wisdom that says he is a sure thing for reelection. That CW comes courtesy of a terrible statewide organization, which can’t seem to ever contest a union stooge for fear of losing the philly parking concession.
Tell the folks there that if they run out of Romney-Ryan signs is to make your own home made signs fast.
Tat King Coal...
Kristin,
I used to live in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
I can verify that New Hope is in Pennsylvania. If the campaign has any doubt, they can set their GPS.
40 degree 21 minutes 51 seconds latitiude,
minus 57 degree 47 minutes 4 seconds
Yep, that's the ticket. SNL is a 90 minute Obama Orgasm.
But, yes, we have to kick the butts of Boehner and McConnell...one is an alcoholic who sides with the left, in order to “get along”, and the other one mumbles and talks down the inside of the shirt he is wearing...DOES not fight for Republicans/Conservates...is about an inspiring as wet lint.
Grinning ear to ear here in Pa. Can’t wait to say told ya so on 11/7. At least in the areas I travel, Chester, Montgomery, Berks and delaware counties, the mojo is strong for our side. Yeah, there’s still a good number of 0bamaphiles...but I believe they are seriously outnumbered. This is the state that gave us Toomey over sniveling Sestak in 2010 and we’re ready to do it again.
Thanks Onyx. Tom Smith is a good man. A true citizen’s candidate. I’m hoping he appeals to the coal regions in the North of the State. Like Romney, he wasn’t my first choice but he’s a good and decent man and has run a clean campaign. And Pat Toomey could use the help in the Senate.
PA always does the strip tease for the GOP and then breaks their heart. Too much of a Dem machine. Unless you can really motivate the Reagan Democrats to switch, you have no real hope. A pro-abortion, pro-gay Republican candidate is not going to win the hearts of the heavily Catholic state.
I think MD will be stunningly close this time.
Federal employees have been watching the Libya coverup with great interest—they now know this is an incumbent quite willing to throw them under the bus.
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Mitt Romney's Campaign, RNC Have 60+ Staffers In Pennsyvania, Planning More
Stephen Hayes @stephenfhayes RT @samsteinhp: .@stephenfhayes had to clarify. the RNC/Romney folks are now up to 60 plus staffers, plotting more. not adding 60. Still int Collapse
4:24 PM - 20 Oct 12 · Details
Original source for Stephen F Hayes:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/20/mitt-romney-pennsylvania-rnc_n_1993677.html
I was in the Scranton area just 2 weeks ago (was also in Wayne and Pike Counties). R/R signs outnumbered ‘Bama signs by 5:1.
That sounds like good news to me. (I’m on Long Island, and I haven’t seen a SINGLE presidential sign all season. Last time around you couldn’t swing a dead cat without hitting an Obama sign.)
Regards,
Washington County Pa here, here in Pittsburgh there is something going on, probably indicative of the whole state and country. There is something tangible in the air, 1980 style, I think the Reagan Democrats found Sarah Palin too scary and John McCain to moribund in 2008, but Romney is just RINO enough for the. Combine that with a genuine loathing for the White Guilt incumbent and we have a winner. I think Obama loses Pa by 2 points. I can see the dam breaking the next two weeks and many states like Maryland, Mn, Ct. NJ, NM, Oregon, Washington going from Obama sure things to soft leans\tossups. Over by 11pm election night folks...OVER. Anyone who thinks Ohio is going Obama has their head up their rectum.
doesn't Philly vote over 90% of registered voters? I think the national average is in the mid thirties
talk about voting the dead ...
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Sixty staff is not a big investment, if it panics the Dems into spending a lot more in PA, and draws away Dem resources from other states.
Losing PA, or even APPEARING to lose PA on election day would be demoralizing to the West Coast Dems.
Your correction is incorrect for my post. The HuffPo writer had already made the correction when I posted the headline and link to his article. Thank you.
BINGO!!!!
THE BENCHMARK IS 2010 NOT 2008. Ask yourselves, (not just with regards to PA but nationally), has anything happened in the last 2 years that would stop the bleeding inflicted in 2010 for Obama and the democrat senate?
2010 is the most overlooked and under analyzed factor in the coming election. It should be the most significant factor.
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