SD-15

State Sen. Jeff Piccola (R-Dauphin) has seemingly held on to victory against Democrat Judy Hirsh in what turned into one of the most competitive races in the state.

The senator won 52 percent to 48 percent, or just about 5,000 votes, according to preliminary results.

The Piccola campaign told PolitickerPA.com just past midnight it thought it had made up an early defecit against Hirsh to defeat her.

It's a testament to the electorate's belief in Piccola's reform agenda and tax policies, said staffer Todd Nyquist, that he will return to Harrisburg despite having an election in a very Democratic year.

His victory locks up an impressive night for the Senate Republicans, who claimed wins in the 47th and 39th senatorial districts to push their edge in the Senate up one, 30-20.

The first serious challenge to state Sen. Jeff Piccola (R-Dauphin County) in years has led to the largest campaign spending influx the 15th Senatorial District has ever seen, The Patriot-News reports.

"I would be shocked if this wasn't the largest amount spent on television ads in that district's history. I would be shocked if it wasn't," said Franklin & Marshall pollster Terry Madonna. "This is the first time I think Piccola is seriously threatened, and this is massive spending in that district's history."

Each candidate has aired several negative TV ads that have left their opponent bristling. The latest ad has Hirsh even threatening legal action.

The paper reports Friends for Judy Hirsh have spent nearly $200,000 toward television production. Friends of Jeff Piccola spent $75,000 on consulting fees and media buys -- many of his ads have been funded by the state Republican Party.

LOWER PAXTON -- Democratic state Senate candidate Judy Hirsh said Thursday that she will sue the state Republican Party and Sen. Jeff Piccola (R-Dauphin County) for libel if they do not immediately remove their latest TV ad and apologize for what she calls its inaccuracies.

The ad, airing on local TV stations, accuses the "wealthy" Hirsh of not repaying a nearly $200,000 loan until a court ordered her to do so. The accusation is an outright lie, Hirsh said at a press conference outsider her campaign office.

She and the state Democratic Party have asked the TV stations to remove the ad. They have replied they won't.

Josh Wilson, Piccola's campaign manager, said the ads were funded entirely by the Republican Party. He declined to comment, saying the senator had nothing to do with them.

Calls from the state Republican Party were not immediately returned.

Sen. Jeff Piccola, left, moderator Scott Gilbert and Democrat Judy Hirsh, right before Monday night's debate: Politicker Photo

DERRY TOWNSHIP -- Monday night's debate between Democrat Judy Hirsh and State Sen. Jeff Piccola (R-Dauphin County) featured attack ad show-and-tell.

While talking about a proposal to police campaign advertisements with a new ethics commission, Hirsh held up a recent Piccola mailer that made what she said were several "unconscionable" attacks.

"How can somebody touting reform send this?" Hirsh asked while holding up the mailer to the roughly 100-person crowd

But Piccola was not to be outdone. The senator, amid raucous applause from his supporters, held up a similar mailer sent by Hirsh, which he said was untrue.

"I submit I'm not running (a negative campaign) now," Piccola said.

His comment was greeted by sarcastic laughter from Hirsh supporters, who seemed as numerous as the Piccola backers.

"Stop with your negative campaigning, and maybe we'll get somewhere," Piccola said.

It was a tense moment in what has become an increasingly heated campaign between the two candidates in the 15th Senatorial District, seen as one of the state's most competitive.

The campaign for state Sen. Jeff Piccola (R-Dauphin County) has launched a TV ad defending his record of reform in the face of recent criticisms by his Democratic opponent.

It's the first TV ad this campaign from the longtime senator and airs about a week after Democrat Judy Hirsh began running her first advertisement. Hirsh's ad accused the senator of stymieing reform while lining his own pockets.

That brought a sharp response from Piccola, who used his 30-second spot to call Hirsh a "political opportunist" and said "she is letting the Harrisburg insiders who brought you the legislative pay-raise run her sleazy campaign."

Hirsh's campaign, through a statement, has denied Piccola's accusations.

A person close to Piccola's campaign told PolitickerPA.com Hirsh's ad surprised the campaign and forced it to "defend Piccola's record" with the TV spot, which costs about $20,000 a week to run. But the source said the campaign did plan to run its first ad about this time.

State Senate candidate Judy Hirsh will begin airing her first TV ad Thursday, a 30-second spot that seeks to tout her credentials as a mother and small business owner while ripping her opponent, state Sen. Jeff Piccola (R-Dauphin County) as a status quo incumbent.

The ad is split into two halves -- the first focuses on Hirsh as a mother and business owner who "knows business as usual won't work anymore." The second half, which features a different narrator, accuses Piccola of increasing his pension while electric utility rates are set to skyrocket. 

Hirsh's campaign manager declined to say how much the ad buy was worth or what stations it will run on. 

See also on PolitickerPA.com:

• Hirsh, Piccola tussle over reform, ties to district

Democrat candidate Judy Hirsh faces longtime state Sen. Jeff Piccola (R-Dauphin County) this fall.: Politicker Photo

Longtime state Sen. Jeff Piccola (R-Dauphin County) coasted to re-election in 2004 by 22 percentage points and by 35 percentage points in 2000.

Piccola's opponent this year thinks 2008 will be different -- she said she just needs to get the 15th Senatorial District to examine his record.

"Jeff Piccola has never had a serious challenger," said Democrat Judy Hirsh, who talked to PolitickerPA.com as she sat in the office of her real estate consulting business about a 10-minute drive from Harrisburg. "His record has never been put before his district."

Hirsh, a former Susquehanna Township commissioner candidate, said she will try to paint his record as entrenched in the status quo and out of touch with the district as she tries to overcome her underdog status in a district that has shifted leftward in recent years.

But Piccola countered he has been one of the legislature's leading reformer's whose independence has consistently appealed to independents and Democrats. He tackled the status quo long before it became in vogue, he said.