SD-17

PLYMOUTH MEETING-What Republicans were hoping would be a competitive race for an open state Senate seat in Montgomery County ended in a romp Tuesday night, as state Rep. Daylin Leach (D-Upper Merion) was projected to move to Harrisburg's upper chamber.

With all precincts reporting, Leach was beating Republican Lower Merion Commissioner Lance Rogers by more than 30 points. He had more than 54,000 votes, compared to just over 29,000 for Rogers.

Pending certification of the results, he will take the 17th Senatorial District seat being vacated by state Sen. Connie Williams (D-Montgomery).

He greeted cheering supporters here late Tuesday night, shortly after networks had called the presidency for Barack Obama.

"This is the best night that ever happened, isn't it?" he asked.

CONSHOHOCKEN--When the first network called Ohio for Barack Obama, it was like the Phillies had won the World Series all over again at the Great American Pub here.

Cheers of delight went up, and the crowd was buoyed.

Supporters of state Reps. Daylin Leach (D-Upper Merion) and Mike Gerber (D-Whitpain) were gathering for a party here, and early returns were making them happy. Gerber was not expected to be seriously challenged by Republican Matt Maguire in the 148th Legislative District.

Leach, in his efforts to win the state Senate seat being vacated by Democrat Connie Williams, has a tougher race on his hands against Republican Lance Rogers in 17th Senatorial District.

Early returns looked close, with Leach leading by less than 100 votes with a third of the precints reporting.

It's been a tough couple years for the Montgomery County Republican Committee. Registration gains that were already moving in the Democrats' favor accelerated greatly with the excitement over the presidential race. Factions of the party are split, with the two Republican County Commissioners locked in a political feud that has given Democrats more control of local policy, and seats long-held by the GOP seem increasingly in danger.

County Republicans hope they can emerge from this political minefield on Election Day and bolster their sagging presence in the Philadelphia suburbs. There are Democratic seats in state legislature they hope to capture, and Republican seats where they hope to stave off fierce challenges. By some counts, at least five Harrisburg offices are in play. A best-case scenario could do wonders for the party organization. A worst-case outcome, though, could cement its minority status in the county for the coming years.

"This will be a pivotal moment," said Chris Borick, a pollster and political scientist at Muhlenberg College. "It's been a tough run for Republicans in Montgomery County over the last few years. If they have another bad night and see a lot of these down-ballot races break from them, it will further confirm that the county is slipping away from them."

Photo provided by the Lance Rogers campaign

A bumper sticker on state Rep. Daylin Leach's taxpayer-provided car

In a move that is almost certainly illegal, and definitely ill-advised only months after Bonusgate, state Rep. Daylin Leach (D-Upper Merion) has been sporting a Barack Obama campaign bumper sticker on his taxpayer-provided car, his opponent has pointed out.

Leach is running to replace retiring state Sen. Connie Williams (D-Montgomery) in the 17th Senatorial District. The campaign of his Republican opponent, Lower Merion Commissioner Lance Rogers, e-mailed reporters pictures of what is clearly Leach's car, identified by the license plate number of his 149th Legislative District. A Hebrew-language Barack Obama sticker graces the bumper.

"We already knew that Mr. Leach has no problem forcing taxpayers to foot the bill for his car, his car insurance, his gas, and his car repairs," Rogers spokesman Brad Goodman said. "We already knew that Mr. Leach has no problem forcing taxpayers to foot the bill for his political advertising in the form of ‘legislative mailers.' Now we've learned that Mr. Leach also thinks it's OK to place political advertising on state owned property."

Leach campaign manager Kristen Stoner said the campaign had no comment.

It's a surprising move by Leach, coming just months after lawmakers in the House Democratic Caucus have found themselves under fire in the Bonusgate scandal, in which taxpayer resources were allegedly used for political work.

"In light of the Bonusgate scandal, you would have to be an idiot to mix politics and state paid offices, vehicles etc.," said Larry Otter, an election law expert who has worked for both Democrats and Republicans. "There is no shortage of idiots in Pennsylvania politics."

The race to succeed retiring state Sen. Connie Williams (D-Montgomery) is emerging as a high-stakes, big-money affair, with both candidates turning heads with their robust fundraising hauls and some political insiders seeing a closer-than-expected race developing.

State Rep. Daylin Leach (D-Upper Merion) is running against Republican Lower Merion Township Commissioner Lance Rogers to replace Williams in the 17th Senatorial District, which includes Conshohocken, Norristown, Narberth and Radnor. Both candidates are considered rising stars in their parties, and both have lived up to their reputations by piling up impressive campaign war chests over the last several months.

Leach, who some political watchers peg as the favorite since he already represents part of the increasingly Democratic district, raised more than $326,000 between May and October, and benefited from an additional $226,000 in in-kind contributions, according to his 5th cycle campaign finance report filed last week.

"I'm very gratified that people in very tough economic times have supported our campaign," Leach told PolitickerPA.com in an interview Monday. "I think it's a testament to some of the work we've been doing in Harrisburg."

Despite the difficult climate for GOP candidates, Rogers raised more than $377,000 in the same period and collected almost $148,000 in in-kind contributions. Rogers' campaign had about $35,000 in debt at the end of the period, but still had more than $20,000 in cash on hand for the closing two weeks before Election Day. (Rogers' report had not yet been published on the Department of State Web site Wednesday but the campaign provided a copy to PolitickerPa.com.)

"Our success in fundraising has been a strong indicator of the momentum we have in this race and how hard we're working," Rogers said.

Leach has significantly more money to spend for the homestretch, with his report showing more than $110,000 in cash on hand, and his campaign saying almost $50,000 in donations have come in since the close of the reporting period last week.

Each has raised more money than even some Congressional candidates.

"Having close to a million dollars spent on a state Senate race is more than you’d expect," said Chris Borick, a pollster and political science professor at Muhlenberg College in Allentown. "It’s a good indicator of how the 17th is seen as a key district and one that is absolutely in play this time around.

"Those figures are clearly a signal that both parties think they’ve got a legitimate chance," he added. "It’s clearly above what you’d see in the average state senate race in Pennsylvania."

With few state Senate races expected to be competitive affairs, the 17th District race has become the most closely watched in southeastern Pennsylvania. Both parties are heavily invested, with Democrats spending big to hold onto the seat and Republicans shelling out money to capture it.

GOP state Senate candidates Lance Rogers and Dominic Pileggi were endorsed by The Inquirer today, joining a growing number of Republicans to win the backing of the traditionally left-leaning editorial page.

Pileggi is the Chester City Republican incumbent running against Democratic challenger John Linder in the 9th Senatorial District. Rogers is challenging state Rep. Daylin Leach (D-Upper Merion) for the 17th District seat being vacated by retiring state Sen. Connie Williams (D-Montgomery).

The in the editorial, The Inquirer said Rogers "could bring a fresh approach to the Senate on issues such as gun control and expanded health-care coverage, on which he pledges not to walk lock-step with the GOP."

The paper said "it would be better for constituents in the 9th to keep Pileggi's leadership and influence."

BRYN MAWR-Democrats in Montgomery County have had plenty to keep them busy this election cycle, from working to win the Philadelphia suburbs for Barack Obama to trying to capture at least two state House seats.

So Tim Briggs, who's trying to succeed state Rep. Daylin Leach (D-Upper Merion) in the majority Democratic 149th Legislative District, is more than willing to carry his own water.

"When I got into this I told party leadership that I wanted to do the best I could in raising money on my own and letting them use their resources to expand the majority," he told PolitickerPA.com before a rally for Congressional candidate Bob Roggio. "I have gotten help from the party, but I want to do this as much on my own as I can."

His Republican opponent, Lynne Lechter, entered the race shortly before the April primary after Republican Mike Fiore stepped aside. Though GOP insiders say she has run a strong grass-roots campaign, the race is low on their list of seats they hope to capture.

With Leach vacating the seat to run for state Senate the 17th District, Briggs said, "the biggest challenge I had over the summer was people thought I was running against Daylin."

He has since then included Leach in his campaign literature to clear up the misconception.

"I want to continue [Leach's] progressive leadership," Briggs said.

He had about $55,000 in cash on hand as of Monday, according to campaign finance reports filed Friday. It's probably more than he needs in the low-profile race. He isn't advertising on local television or radio. Lechter's latest campaign finance reports had not yet been published on the Department of State Web site as of late Friday afternoon.

Courtesy of the Roggio campaign

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) stumps for Congressional candidate Bob Roggio at Bryn Mawr College.

BRYN MAWR-The few dozen people who had turned out to see U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) vouch for Congressional candidate Bob Roggio Friday had to wait more than an hour in the increasingly cold fall weather for the junior Senator to arrive.

But few left, as down-ballot Democratic candidates talked up their election day prospects and man-of-the-hour Roggio, who is trying to unseat U.S. Rep. Jim Gerlach (R-West Pikeland) in the 6th Congressional District.

"This looks like a ripe-for-the-picking seat," state Rep. Daylin Leach (D-Upper Merion) said at the rally on the campus of Bryn Mawr College here.

As he mentioned only briefly, Leach is making his own run against Republican Lance Rogers to replace retiring state Sen. Connie Williams (D-Montgomery) in the 17th Senatorial District. But his focus was on Roggio.

"This area should not be represented by someone like Jim Gerlach," Leach said.

As the candidate waited for Casey's arrival, he used the time to deliver a scathing critique of the Bush administration, particular its economic policies.

"Our president has a master's in business administration from Harvard Business School, and somehow he missed that class," Roggio said.

When Casey finally did arrive, he praised Roggio's work as both a businessman and someone who spent time on Casey's staff.

"I'm very happy to stand before you and support Bob Roggio," Casey said, "not just as a friend and a colleague ... but as someone we can be proud of."

Voters in Montgomery County's 17th Senatorial District are getting robo-calls asking them to support state Rep. Daylin Leach (D-Upper Merion) from a familiar voice: Gov. Ed Rendell.

In a robo-call on behalf of Leach's campaign for state Senate, Rendell says: "As you know, your great Senator Connie Williams is retiring. Connie and I are both supporting Daylin Leach for Senate because he’ll make a terrific Senator."

Leach is running against Republican Lance Rogers for the seat being vacated by Williams, it what has become an increasingly heated campaign, a fact alluded to by Rendell.

The district also includes Haverford and Radnor Townships in Delaware County. Audio of the robo-call:

ARDMORE-Republican candidates across the state have been talking about the bump they hope to get from the excitement generated by GOP vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin. On Sunday, state Senate candidate Lance Rogers was hoping for a boost from a past vice-presidential nominee: the Joe Lieberman bounce.

It might not sound as exciting, as Lieberman, the Independent senator from Connecticut, is hardly a household name. But after Lieberman came here for a small McCain rally at Rogers' campaign headquarters, Rogers said Lieberman symbolized the kind of politician he wants to be.

"It means a lot," Rogers, who is running in the 17th Senatorial District, told PolitickerPA.com after Lieberman spoke. "Sen. Lieberman is an independent, bi-partisan reformer. That's what my campaign is about. That's what my record shows."

Lieberman, complimenting Rogers' campaign headquarters on Lancaster Avenue in Ardmore, quickly pointed out the connection between him and Rogers as he took the stage to cheers from local GOP faithful. Rogers' mother Susan and Lieberman were high school classmates in Connecticut.

"I'm surprised that a classmate of mine could have a son so young," Lieberman joked.