PA-7

Republican Congressional candidate Craig Williams is out with his first ad of the campaign.

The 30-second biographical spot, airing on local cable, highlights his time in military service and his experience as a local prosecutor.

"In Congress, I'll help drain the Washington swamp," he says.

Williams is running against U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Edgmont) in the 7th Congressioal District. 

See the full video of the ad below: 

With Republican nominee for president John McCain announcing Wednesday that he would temporarily suspend his campaign and some members of Congress facing pressure to do the same, Republican candidate Craig Williams will continue on the campaign trail.

"If Mr. Williams were a sitting member of Congress, which he hopes to be follwing the November election, he woudl be focusing all of his energy on resolving this crisis," Williams campaign spokesman Pete Peterson said. "In the meantime, he is going to continue to meet with local residents to discuss their concerns about the economy, taxes, and energy and offer his vision for our nation."

Williams is running against U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak in the 7th Congressional District.

PolitickerPA.com will continue coverage of how Congressional candidates throughout the state are responding to McCain's decision.

Democratic freshman congressman Joe Sestak (PA-7) is using a visit today from John McCain and Sarah Palin to raise campaign funds.  Sestak says the Republican team expects 15,000 republicans and 3,100 independents to attend the event so he is hoping to raise $18,100 today.  Sestak says the McCain and Palin team are holding the rally close to his office because of the close relationship between his opponent, Craig Williams, and Palin.  

PHILADELPHIA -- It might be hard to tell from this grainy recording, but 7th Congressional District Republican candidate Craig Williams gave by far one of the funniest performances at Daily News columnist Stu Bykofsky's Candidates Comedy Night.

Bringing the old "good news, bad news" routine to the stage, apparently for the first time in the event's 18 years, Williams made light of his low name recognition, Eliot Spitzer, and of course, John McCain's age.

Williams is running against U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Edgmont).

Below is a video of Williams' performance: 

During a brief appearance Monday in Montgomery County, U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Congress should return from its summer recess to deal with the country's energy crisis, The Inquirer reports.

"Congress should come back in session, and I'm willing to come off the campaign trail," he said.

McCain's short campaign stop in the Philadelphia area was closed to only a small group of pool reporters. His only stop was at National Label, a company that makes labels for pharmaceuticals and other products.

His call for Congress to return is being echoed by other candidates in the state, especially Republicans. Craig Williams, who is running against U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Edgmont) in the 7th Congressional District, criticized Congress himself Monday morning to taking the recess without passing energy legislation.

McCain's tight control of press access could reflect growing frustration with a  press corps the campaign sees as favoring U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.)

Despite loads of talk about competitive Congressional races in the Philadelphia suburbs, there are growing indications that the real races to watch are elsewhere in the state. Independent political reports have increasingly spotlighted the 3rd, 10th and 11th Congressional Districts as the most competitive, and G. Terry Madonna, a pollster and political science professor at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster said that's where his polling resources are likely to be concentrated.

Madonna told PolitickerPA.com that Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta's challenge to U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-Nanticoke) in the 11th district, as well as Kathy Kahlkemper's challenge to U.S. Rep. Phil English in the 3rd district and Chris Hackett campaign against U.S. Rep Chris Carney (D-Dimock) in the 10th district, will be the most competitive.

He did question recent reports that Kanjorski's race against Barletta is close to a toss-up, saying that while the race would be competitive, Kanjorski's long-held ties in the district would see him through the race.

Madonna downplayed assertions that Republicans Craig Williams and Tom Manion are likely to unseat U.S. Reps. Joe Sestak (D-Egdmont) and Patrick Murphy (D-Bristol). Not that those districts will go unwatched, as they are likely to be key swing areas in the state's presidentail race.

Madonna said he will likely poll in the 3rd, 10th and 11th district races instead of the ones in the Philadelphia suburbs.

Williams raises cash but doesn't spend against Sestak Republican Craig Williams raised over $280,000 in the second fundraising quarter for his bid to unseat U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Edgmont), according to campaign finance reports published Tuesday. But facing what is sure to be an uphill battle against a relatively popular incumbent, Williams only spent about $53,000 of his haul.

Sestak, meanwhile, continued to raise money at a solid clip, collecting about $436,000 in the second quarter for his re-election in the 7th Congressional District. He spent $128,000 of that money, and still had $2.59 million in cash on hand at the end of the quarter, one of the higher totals for Congressional incumbents in the area.

Williams' campaign has more than $30,000 in debt. Most of that debt is for administrative salaries and overhead, and most of his campaign spending fell into that category.

Congressional candidate Craig Williams: Campaign photoSeeking to bolster his credentials as a Republican in favor of off-shore drilling, Craig Williams announced Wednesday that he would take a trip to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge this month.

Williams, who is running against U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Edgmont) in the 7th Congressional District, said the purpose of the trip is to "raise awareness about the availability of domestic energy sources."

"With gas prices at an all time high, we ned to take steps now to reduce our dependence on foreign oil," Williams said in a statement. "We have energy resources available to us domestically that can cut our dependence on foreign oil and provide a bridge to tomorrow when we can more heavily rely on renewable energy sources..."

When the clock strikes midnight, donations for the current federal campaign finance quarter end and candidates will have to report whatever cash they have managed to raise. Candidates on all levels made last-ditch pitches for some extra dough in the final hours.

U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) kicked off the requests at 9:16 this morning, telling supporters in an email that "right now is the time to step up and own a piece of this campaign."

After the presidential candidate made his appeal, the congressional candidates jumped in.

When U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Delaware) joined other Democrats and Republicans to vote for approval of continued funding for the war in Iraq, he did so over the objections of many constituents, The DelCo Times reports.

Sestak, who faces Republican Craig Williams for reelection in November, voted to continue funding the war as Democrats largely gave up on forcing President Bush to change course before he leaves office next year.

But David Gibson of Coalition for Peace Action said he delivered a petition with 1,284 signatures oppoosing the vote to Sestak before the Thursday vote.

“We call on Congressman Joe Sestak to stand up and vote for a responsible redeployment of our troops from Iraq and refuse funding requests for continued occupation that doesn’t include an exit strategy ending U.S. occupation,” the petition read, according to The DelCo Times.