MontCo lawmaker aims to withstand Democratic tide in re-election bid

It's a tough time to be a Montgomery County Republican. The Party has lost its long-held advantage in voter registration. It has been losing seats in the county, with some local Republicans increasingly worried that more will fall in November. The GOP's two county commissioners are feuding with each other, one siding with a Democrat and cutting the other out of power.

All this on top of what is already expected to be a toxic climate for the Republican Party nationally.

It is these forces that state Rep. Thomas Quigley (R-Royersford) is trying to withstand in the 146th Legislative District. Elected to the office in 2004 by a margin of just over 1,000 votes, he is, in running for his third term, at the cusp of that moment when incumbents become far harder to beat.

"Anytime you have a clear shift of partisanship going on in a place like Montgomery County that's been bleeding republicans ... those are some of the soft spots for relatively new members of the legislature," said Chris Borick, a pollster and political science professor in Allentown.

But while the overwhelming Democratic tides could be enough to unseat Quigley, he has reason to feel confident heading toward November.

His opponent, longtime businessman Jim Prendergast, is a political outsider making his first run for elected office. And despite his emphasis on the local hot-button issue of tax reform, his meager war chest may make it hard to get that message out.

Prendergast collected only $1,000 in the week following the state's April primary, and that money consisted of two $500 donations, according to state campaign finance data. One of those contributions was from local Democratic Party official Sean Kilkenny. Prendergast had just over $181 on hand in mid-May. His bare-bones website is paid for the by House Democratic Campaign Committee.

Quigley, by contrast, raised almost $10,000 during the same period and had more than $15,000 on hand in mid-May. He is a former mayor of Royersford.

In an interview with PolitickerPa.com, Quigley said he had pushed the issues important to constituents, including property tax reform and environmental matters.

"On the issues that are important to people, I've been a strong leader," he said.

Prendergast, for his part, acknowledged the difficulty of challenging an incumbent with party backing, but said that the district was ready for change.

"What I've seen in the last four years is a total ineffectiveness of the state legislature to pass any relevant legislation to help the working taxpayers of the state," he said.

Republicans still have a slight edge in voter registration in the district, which includes Pottstown, Lower Pottsgrove, Upper Pottsgrove and Royersford. In the end, much could hinge on how voters lean in the presidential race. If enough go Democrat and punch down the ballot on that side, Quigley could become another victim of the county's turn away from Republicans.