Jason Petrella

One of the state's most closely watched regions Tuesday will be Beaver County, which features one competitive state Senate and three heated state House races.

And like practically every other area in the state, the county has seen a huge voter turnout thus far, Beaver County Democratic Party Chairman Mike Sisk told PolitickerPA.com.

A hundred people had lined up outside Sisk's voter precinct by 7 a.m., he said. He said he thinks turnout in his precinct will reach 80 percent.

The still relatively new county chairman thinks that will bode well for the four Democrats running in the county -- state Senate candidate Jason Petrella and state rep. candidates Dennis Rousseau, Vince Biancucci and Jaret Gibbons. 

"Voter registration is 3-to-1 in favor of Democrats," Sisk said. "So according to history, that should be good for us. But you never know, these are changing times."

Petrella's race against Republican Elder Vogel Jr. has been been one of the state's most closely watched campaign as each tries to replace retiring state Sen. Gerald Lavalle (D-Beaver County).

"I'm confident in Jason Petrella," Sisk said. "It'll be close, but I think Jason will win."

Will the reduced street money in Philadelphia have an affect on the outcome, or will the increased voter registration in Philadelphia overcome that?

Will an energized and superior ground force for the Democrats be enough to propel John Morganelli past Tom Corbett or is Corbett just too strong?

With PA-3 so close what will be the driving factor, change or will the power of incumbency be just too much for Kathy Dahlkemper?

Are we watching the end of Melissa Hart's political career? The once future-star of the Republican Party will be hurt by back-to-back loses.

Will Jim Gerlach lock down PA-6 in 2010 tonight? A strong win in this political environment by someone who is used to nail-bitters will deter any strong challengers next cycle.

Will Joe Sestak's hoarding of money come back to bite him in a Republican district?

Can Lou Barletta end Paul Kanjorski's career as the polls seem to indicate, or will voter registration trump all when it's all over?

Are we really talking about the possibility of a John Murtha loss? If he does lose will he explode on stage?

Could Jeff Piccola really lose? A strong district and great name ID, but still finds himself in a tough race.

Who would have thought it was possible for a Republican to to be competative in SD-17 in this environment. Could Lance Rogers pull an upset and make it a great day for Senate Republicans?

What happened to Tony Bompiani. Once thought to be competative could Kim Ward really be walking away with this one like many believe?

When SD-47 go into the polls will they see Jason Petrella's name or will they see Mike Veon's face?

Will Joe Scarnati really be able to make Republican gains in the Senate in a Democratic year?

Will Republican make gains in the House and be able to take back the speakers chair or will Democrats be able to make enough pick-ups to take it from O'Brien?

We will know soon enough.    

Reports of hour-plus waits at the polls are reaching PolitickerPA.com from across the state.

One of those areas is Center Township's 5th Precinct in Beaver County, according to Kyle Mullins, state Senate candidate Jason Petrella's campaign manager. He told PolitickerPA.com in an e-mail that one woman who reported to the polls at 7 a.m. finally voted just after 8 a.m.

He indicated the apparently high turnout is good news for Petrella, who faces Republican Elder Vogel Jr. in one of Pennsylvania's most competitive state Senate races.

"That's what we're hoping for," he said.

A report from the Centre Daily Times says voter turnout in that area is at an unprecedented level. 

"I've never seen anything like this," Jeff Kern, a precinct judge of elections in the State College told the paper.

The paper reported the lines were as long as a hundred people. 

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports similar turnout in western Pennsylvania while The Erie Times-News reports each party is offering rides to voters.

Tom Corbett received an endorsement from the Inquirer and the campaign manager of a former opponent, who else joins him on this week's Winners & Losers. 

MONACA -- Democrat Jason Petrella and Republican Elder Vogel Jr. have engaged in a sharply negative campaign as they vie to take the reins in the 47th Senatorial District.

In response, their debate moderator on Tuesday night, KDKA political analyst Jon Delano, made a simple plea to each: please, don't attack your opponent during your opening remarks.

"If you believed all that was said you would not want to vote for either of these candidates," Delano told a sparse crowd at the Penn State-Beaver auditorium. "So, tell us who you are during your opening remarks and do so without mentioning the name of your opponent."

Did his request work? Sort of. The hour-long debate focused largely on issues, with Vogel arguing he will "put Harrisburg on a diet," and Petrella offering more detailed proposals to expand health care while revitalizing the region's economy.

However, at times the debate did wander into campaign tactics, and it's clear neither candidate is pleased with how their opponent has waged his campaign. Vogel bristled at the claim he is in the pocket of big-time GOP strategist Mike Long, and Petrella rejects the insinuation he is part of the Beaver County Democratic Party currently embroiled in scandal.

MONACA -- Former Mike Veon foe and Beaver County political fixture Jay Paisley has thrown his support behind Democratic state Senate candidate Jason Petrella in his neck-and-neck race against Republican Elder Vogel Jr.

Paisley, who attended Tuesday night's debate between the two candidates, had originally committed to remaining neutral. But he said a series of attacks against Petrella linking him to the scandal-plagued Beaver County Democratic Party made him "feel obligated" lend his support.

Petrella isn't part of the party machine run by former Minority Whip Veon no matter what Vogel and the State Republican Party say, Paisley told PolitickerPA.com. Petrella was enemy No. 1 to Democrats in the county after running just six months ago against their anointed choice to take the reins in the 47th Senatorial District, state Rep. Sean Ramaley. Petrella lost to the now indicted lawmaker by an unexpectedly close margin.

Paisley's words might carry more weight with voters because of his well-known challenge to Veon in the 2006 Democratic primary. Veon later lost to state Rep. Jim Marshall (R-Beaver County), who Paisley backed in the general election.

Beaver County Democratic Chairman Mike Sisk isn't ready to congratulate his party's state committee after it moved Saturday to change how it picks replacement candidates, nearly a month after its selection of Jason Petrella caused outrage among local Democrats.

"I don't know, we'll see," Sisk told PolitickerPA.com.

The Rules and Order of Business Committee, with the state Executive Committee, voted at the state committee's meeting to develop rules for selecting candidates if one picked by voters bows out of the campaign. The committee does not have any guidelines for picking replacement candidates when local county committees endorsement different people, a flaw exposed this August in the 47th Senatorial District when Sean Ramaley quit his campaign.

The state Democratic Party moved Saturday to change how it picks replacement candidates, nearly a month after Jason Petrella's selection in the 47th Senatorial District left some local and state officials outraged over a process they deemed unfair.

The Rules and Order of Business Business Committee, in conjunction with the state Executive Committee, voted Saturday to develop rules for selecting candidates if one picked by voters bows out of the campaign, according to rules committee co-chairman Jack Hanna.

The process in place now does not instruct the party how to make the selection if the 50-member Executive Committee, comprising party members across the state who make the final decision, receives different endorsements from county parties within the district. That flaw was exposed in early August after state Senate candidate Sean Ramaley had to step down from his campaign in the 47th Senatorial District following his indictment in "Bonusgate."

The ensuing scramble within the district, which includes parts of Beaver, Lawrence and Allegheny counties, led to two endorsed candidates, former Senate candidate Jason Petrella in Lawrence and Beaver County Commissioner Joe Spanik in Beaver. To further confuse matters, a third pick, former Gov. Bob Casey (D) Press Secretary Bob Grotevant, received the local union endorsement.

State Senate Democrats, eager to narrow the Republican majority, are pegging their hopes on a few open seats.

Republicans currently hold a 29-21 advantage in the chamber, a majority Democrats hope to erase in two years. But for now, the immediate focus is on seats without incumbents.

"We are looking at a couple of open seats, and we're very optimistic about them," state Sen. Connie Williams (D-Montgomery), who is chairing the Democratic State Senate Campaign Committee, told PolitickerPA.com in an interview this week.