Joe Sestak

U.S. Rep. Charlie Rangel: Getty Images PhotoEight Pennsylvania Democrats running for Congress are being criticized by the National Republican Congressional Committee for accepting donations from U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), who is embroiled in scandal after being accused of using his high-profile status to secure rent-stabilized apartments.

The NRCC sent two sets of e-mails, one Saturday to incumbents and another Wednesday to challengers, saying Democrats should return donations from the politically powerful Rangel.

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.

Like other Democrats being targeted by Freedom's Watch campaign of robo-calls, U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak is striking back against the conservative advocay group's criticisms and using it as an opportunity to rally supporters behind him.

Sestak, who represents Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District, is one of many lawmakers who has been targeted by the group's campaign.  In Pennsylvania, those lawmakers include U.S. Reps. Paul Kanjorski, Chris Carney and Jason Altmire, among others.

The periodic robo-calls targeting Sestak have focused on troop funding and other military issues, attacking him for not supporting U.S. troops.

In an e-mail message to supporters this morning, Sestak, who served 31 years in the military, said attacks could not be allowed to go unanswered.

The Pennsylvania Democratic Party is still being careful not to declare its support for either potential presidential nominee even amid the increasing likelihood that U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) will soon earn the number of delegates necessary to defeat U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.).

The state Democratic party is not going to decide who the nominee is until the national party has chosen, said spokesman Abe Amoras.

When and if Clinton throws her support behind Obama, the state party will be ready to back him 100 percent, he said.
"We're going to be ready when the other shoe drops," he said.

When voters head to the polls on Election Day they look at many things including a person’s life story, their stance on issues and party affiliation. When it comes to personal stories Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District will be one of the most fascinating in the country. Democratic Congressman Joe Sestak has a military record that is hard to match. Well, Republican Craig Williams may have done just that. The County Press Online did a profile on Williams in their May 6th edition and it is a fascinating read.

Here's a look at the fundraising numbers for U.S. House races in Pennsylvania at the end of the first quarter:

Republican U.S. House candidate Craig Williams, who is challenging first-term Democrat Joe Sestak in District 7, has won the endorsement of former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge.

"What I found was a man of integrity and character and experience," Ridge said of Williams, a former Assistant U.S. Attorney.

The race between Williams and Sestak, a former Navy Admiral, is widely seen as one of the most competitive in the state. Sestak defeated Republican incumbent Curt Weldon in 2006 by a 53 to 47 percent margin.