NRCC MEMO: PENNSYLVANIA PRIMARY & SPECIAL ELECTION RESULTS
| NRCC PENNSYLVANIA PRIMARY & SPECIAL ELECTION MEMO
NOTE: The following is a partial memo from the National Republican Congressional Committee. The memo will be sent out in its entirety once a winner in the Seventeenth Congressional District’s GOP Primary is declared. TO: INTERESTED PARTIES Despite then-candidate Barack Obama winning Pennsylvania with a double-digit margin less than two years ago, voters have quickly turned against his agenda of endless spending and debt, government takeovers, and fewer jobs. Pennsylvanians watched as Speaker Pelosi and her Democrats in Congress forced through healthcare legislation that cuts Medicare, enacted a budget with higher taxes and passed a stimulus bill that has not put people back to work. As a result, across the Keystone State the GOP is poised to make gains with several seats potentially in play as pick-up opportunities. CHALLENGERS PA-03 (Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper, D) Kathy Dahlkemper is firmly positioned as one of Speaker Pelosi’s most loyal allies. After racking up a voting record that lines up with her party bosses more than 94% of the time, Dahlkemper’s failed to focus on one of the most important issues facing Northwestern Pennsylvania: jobs. She supported the trillion-dollar failed stimulus bill, tax hikes on middle-class families and small business owners, and a government-takeover of healthcare. She stood with Pelosi in unveiling ObamaCare, and then tossed aside her pro-life campaign promise when she caved on a phony deal that paved the way for taxpayer-funded abortions. History & Geography: This is a traditionally GOP seat that earns an R+3 rating from Charlie Cook’s PVI. Stretching across Northwestern Pennsylvania, PA-3 is Erie-based and extends south to include portions of Armstrong and Butler counties. For the past two presidential elections, voters in this district supported the GOP ticket. PA-04 (Rep. Jason Altmire, D) Tonight, Keith Rothfus’s grassroots momentum propelled him to victory against a well-known and established GOP challenger. A businessman with strong family values, Rothfus is a job creator committed to delivering an economic boost to Northwest Pennsylvania by focusing on lower taxes, responsible government and paying down the debt. Jason Altmire’s record of taxing and spending is out of touch with voters in Western PA who want job creation and fiscal responsibility. He supported the stimulus bill that failed to put people back to work, and he once again helped his party leadership when it came time to pass a budget that piled up more backbreaking debt for future generations to repay. That’s no surprise, however, because Altmire is concerned more with his career as a politician than with standing up for voters in Western Pennsylvania. History & Geography: Charlie Cook rates this seat as R+6. Sitting outside of Pittsburgh, this district includes Murraysville and extends northwest to Beaver Falls and New Castle. McCain won this seat with an 11-point margin in 2008. PA-07 (Rep. Joe Sestak, D / Open Seat) Pat Meehan has proven to be one of the best GOP candidates in the country, and today’s primary victory puts him on a path to win this open seat. A prolific fundraiser and a top-tier Young Guns candidate, Meehan will face state Representative Bryan Lentz. It’s no surprise that Speaker Pelosi wants Lentz in Congress. He has a history of supporting out-of-control spending, job-killing tax hikes and bigger government. Not only does Lentz support ObamaCare, but his record in Harrisburg shows that he’ll be a rubberstamp for his party in Washington, D.C. As U.S. Attorney, Pat took a stand against the pay-to-play politics in Philadelphia. He took on corruption because he knew the public’s faith in government, among other things, was at stake. The situation was dire, and it required someone to stand up on behalf of the taxpayers and say, “Business as usual must stop.” His work and commitment led to a string of convictions, and the city’s political culture was forever changed. In Washington, he’ll take the same passion and dedication to stop Speaker Pelosi’s partisan agenda, turn around the economy and deliver meaningful fiscal discipline to Congress. History & Geography: Republicans held this competitive Southeastern Pennsylvania seat for a decade before Joe Sestak won in 2006. This is a suburban Philadelphia district that extends south to the Delaware border and is rated by Charlie Cook as D+3. Despite the fact that Obama took 56% of the vote in this district, a credit to Meehan’s strong candidacy is that respected political handicapper Stu Rothenberg considers this seat to be a “pure toss-up.” PA-08 (Rep. Patrick Murphy, D) Bucks County native Mike Fitzpatrick emerged from a crowded primary field with a decisive victory as he aims to reclaim his old seat from Democrat Patrick Murphy. Fitzpatrick was elected to the seat and served the Eighth District for one term before being swept out by the Democrat wave of 2006. Now, he’s ready to wage a well-funded challenge to Murphy, whose rhetoric in the district just doesn’t match his party-line voting record in Washington. Earlier this year, Fitzpatrick made waves when he announced a fundraising haul of over half a million dollars in his first quarter of campaigning, and he’s in position to build upon his early momentum. Murphy, meanwhile, has badly damaged his credibility as a so-called moderate ‘Blue Dog’ Democrat in this classic suburban swing district, repeatedly voting with his party bosses on wasteful spending sprees such as the trillion-dollar stimulus and a government takeover of healthcare. History & Geography: The Eighth District lies in the Philadelphia suburbs and contains all of Bucks County, as well as a small portion of Montgomery County and Northeast Philadelphia. The district has moved from traditionally Republican to marginally Democratic in recent years, but remains a traditional swing district with a D+2 rating from the Cook Partisan Voting Index. PA-10 (Rep. Chris Carney, D) Former United States Attorney Tom Marino emerged from a contested primary as the nominee to take on two-term Democrat Chris Carney. As a native of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, Marino’s blue-collar roots in the district give him an understanding of the challenges facing middle-class families in Northeastern Pennsylvania. During his time as a U.S. Attorney, Marino worked to crack down on organized crime and drug trafficking, earning a well-deserved reputation as a leader who isn’t afraid of a fight. Marino’s independent leadership stands in stark contrast to incumbent Rep. Chris Carney, who has served as an unapologetic yes-man for the Obama-Pelosi agenda despite the district’s Republican leanings. Prior to his service as a U.S. Attorney, Marino was elected to the position of District Attorney for Lycoming County, a position he held for ten years. History & Geography: Sprawling across Northeastern Pennsylvania, this district is rated R+8 by Cook and includes more than a dozen counties. PA-10 includes the towns of Shamokin, Williamsport and Carbondale and extends into the corner of the Keystone State touching the New York State border. Historically GOP, McCain won this seat with 53% of the vote. Before Chris Carney won in 2006, Republicans held this seat for more than four decades. PA-11 (Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D) Lou Barletta’s win tonight puts him on track to pick up a seat not held by the GOP since the early 1980s. With a top candidate like Lou Barletta, a Young Gun in the NRCC’s candidate recruitment program, we plan to hold career politician Paul Kanjorski accountable. As the Democrat primary proved, voters in PA-11 are frustrated with Kanjorski’s inability to create jobs and for wasting his top seniority on Wall Street bailouts and government takeovers. He flip-flopped on Obama’s government-takeover of the student loan industry and, as a result, Kanjorski helped the president ship good-paying jobs out of Northeastern Pennsylvania. As a result, Kanjorski failed to garner even a majority of votes in tonight’s Democratic primary. Barletta is the twice-elected mayor of Hazleton, a city where Democrats outnumber Republicans by a two-to-one margin. He inherited a massive budget shortfall but was able to turn the city around with tough prudent financial decisions that earned statewide praise and recognition. Barletta offers the type of leadership Washington needs to help rein in spending, pay down the debt and restore fiscal sanity to a bloated federal budget. He’s a proven fundraiser with an extensive grassroots network that is generating momentum for his candidacy across Pennsylvania. History & Geography: Cook rates this seat as D+4. In Northeastern Pennsylvania, this district includes the towns of Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Bloomsburg, Hazleton and East Stroudsburg near the New Jersey border. PA-12 (Rep.-Elect Mark Critz, D) History & Geography: Despite an R+1 rating from Cook, this seat has a two-to-one Democrat registration advantage. Sprawling across Western Pennsylvania, the seat includes Washington, Uniontown, Indiana, Latrobe and Johnstown, and extends southwest to the West Virginia border. This district has been solidly Democrat with John Murtha regularly winning with double-digit margins for more than three decades. The seat narrowly went for John McCain, who won with 49% of the vote.
PA-06 (Rep. Jim Gerlach, R) With a record as a job creator focused on responsible government and fiscal discipline, Jim Gerlach continues to prove to voters why he’s the right leader for the region. After months of wrangling through a tough primary, it’s clear that Democrats in Southeastern Pennsylvania are in chaos. It does not matter who the Democrats select as their candidate because the contrast in this race is clear: Do voters want more government takeovers, higher taxes and crippling debt? Gerlach has proven to voters time and time again that he’ll stand up for them and the best interests of communities across Southeastern Pennsylvania. It’s a credit to Gerlach’s commitment to voters and his ability as a campaigner that respected political handicapper Charlie Cook rates this seat as “likely Republican.” History & Geography: This Philadelphia suburban district includes portions of Berks, Cheshire, Montgomery and Lehigh counties in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Despite a D+4 rating from Cook, Gerlach has held this seat since winning it in 2002. In 2008, a year that strongly favored Democrats, Gerlach won 52% of the vote, earning him one of his widest margins of victory, despite Obama carrying the seat with 58%. The district includes the towns of Coatesville, Ardmore and Pottstown. PA-15 (Rep. Charlie Dent, R) Charlie Dent continues to be a strong voice for Eastern Pennsylvanians, and tonight’s results demonstrate how effective he has been for voters throughout the district, particularly in creating an environment to turn the economy around and create jobs. With a record of lowering taxes and fighting out-of-control spending in Washington, Dent is on track for another victory on Election Day. Despite several polls showing Dent leading Rahm Emanuel’s handpicked candidate, John Callahan, Democrats desperately cling to their fading chances in PA-15. The most recent survey, released by the Allentown Morning Call, had Dent leading Callahan by 12 points. John Callahan has failed to gain traction because it’s clear that he’d be a rubberstamp for Speaker Pelosi’s partisan agenda. He has a record of raising taxes, including the largest hike the region has seen in fifteen years. Showing how out of touch he is with voters, Callahan admitted that he would have supported the Obama-Pelosi health plan, even though it hurts the economy, raises taxes and cuts Medicare. Charlie Dent, who was endorsed by the TEA Party, remains in a very strong position because people in the 15th district know he is a leading voice in the fight to stand up to Speaker Pelosi and create real jobs. History & Geography: Cook rates this seat D+2, but Dent ran incredibly well in 2008, outperforming Obama by 3 percent. Dent earned 59% while Obama carried the district with 56%. PA-15 includes most of Lehigh County and parts of Montgomery and Berks counties in Eastern Pennsylvania. The district includes the towns of Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton, Fullerton and Northampton. STATEWIDE ROUNDUP The following are the unofficial results from Tuesday’s primary and special elections in Pennsylvania . These results are unofficial and incomplete. DISTRICT/NAME, __ % PA-03 (Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper, D) PA-04 (Rep. Jason Altmire, D) PA-06 (Rep. Jim Gerlach, R) PA-07 (Rep. Joe Sestak, D) PA-08 (Rep. Patrick Murphy, D) PA-10 (Rep. Chris Carney, D) PA-11 (Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D) PA-12 (Rep. John Murtha, D PA-15 (Rep. Charles Dent, R)
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