Pileggi says coming election cycle could pull SEPA back to GOP

MINNETONKA, Minn. -- State Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R-Delaware County) thinks several factors outside of local control have eroded once solid Republican majorities in Philadelphia's suburban counties.

And he told PolitickerPA.com Monday night the changing election cycle might help reverse the trend.

The two primary factors driving increased Democratic registration, Pileggi said, are the widespread unpopularity of President Bush and adulation for Gov. Ed Rendell (D), who the majority leader said still polls as high as 70 percent in some areas.

Both of their terms are coming to an end -- Bush in early 2009, and Rendell in early 2011.

"The cycle now is the (John) McCain, (Sarah) Palin ticket," Pileggi said. "And there has been tremendous support of Governor Palin because they are seeing an independent. That's all been very positive."

Reversing the leftward tilt of southeast Pennsylvania is critically important for state Republicans. Its shift has helped dwindle the number of statewide GOP officials to just two -- Attorney General Tom Corbett and U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Philadelphia) -- and helped elect progressive liberals like Rendell in a state filled with Reagan Democrats.

Pileggi, who agreed to an interview with PolitickerPA.com at an "Ice Cream Social" he hosted for delegates at their Marriott Hotel, emphasized that despite the registration changes, he and many of his delegation have still held onto their seats in the General Assembly.