Free Republic

Democrat Joe Torsella is exiting the race for Pennsylvania’s Senate seat, stepping aside for newly Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.) and clearing the primary field -- for the moment, at least. Torsella, a former deputy mayor of Philadelphia and head of the National Constitution Center, was the only major Democrat in the race until Specter switched parties last month. He raised a very respectable $600,000 in the first quarter and vowed to stay in the race after Specter switched. On Thursday, though, Torsella said in a video that he will no longer be a candidate. “Now that the dust has...

Carolyn Short, one of the chief litigators in Reed Smith's Philadelphia office for more than a decade, has left the firm to become general counsel for the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, which is now chaired by Arlen Specter, R-Pa. Short resigned last Tuesday from Reed Smith, her professional home for the past 16 years, and was sworn in Thursday. Short said she only views it as a temporary position, being that she and her husband, former U.S. Constitutional Center executive director and Democratic congressional candidate Joseph Torsella, live with their four children in Flourtown. She said her chief motivation for...