Candidate Center

Our new candidate center is designed to help keep you up-to-date with the campaigns going on across the country. Click on your state of interest and you’ll find a list of candidates running for each federal office, a brief overview of the state, and specific information for campaigns of interest as it becomes available. In the near future, the candidate center will include polls that will be updated as new ones are released, and links to FEC data.

Pennsylvania

Presidential primary: Tuesday, February 12, 2008 (possible)
Presidential primary: Tuesday, March 4, 2008 (possible)
Presidential primary: Tuesday, April 22, 2008 (will move)
Congressional filing deadline: March 2008
Congressional primary: May 2008

President (21 Electoral Votes)

John Kerry was able to win Pennsylvania in one of the few successes of the 2004 campaign. The campaign spent large sums of money there and produced a close victory, winning the state by 2 percent. This state will once again be crucial to Democratic election hopes. The state trend is Democratic in presidential elections and it has not voted for the GOP since 1988, but the last two presidential races have been very competitive.

Hillary Clinton scored a convincing victory in this state's primary as Barack Obama's appeal amoung working class whites has been questioned. However, the Obama campaign will pour resources into the state, should he win the nomination, and this effort should help mend fences with Clinton supporters. Recent polls have shown Obama's fortunes improving in PA.

Obama VS McCain

Clinton VS McCain

1st District - Bob Brady (Dem)

South and central Philadelphia, part of Chester

Bob Brady (Dem) - Incumbent
Keith Leaphart (Dem) - Physician

2nd District - Chaka Fattah (Dem)

West Philadelphia, Chestnut Hill

Chaka Fattah (Dem) - Incumbent

3rd District - Phil English (Rep)

Northwest corner, Erie

Phil English (Rep) - Incumbent
Kyle Foust (Dem) - Erie County Councilman and Educator
Tom Myers (Dem) - Attorney
Mike Waltner (Dem) - Church Community Outreach Worker
Steve Porter (Green/Ind) - Retired Educator and frequent candidate

4th District - Jason Altmire (Dem)

West, Beaver county, New Castle

Democrat Jason Altmire defeated incumbent Melissa Hart by nearly 4 percent in 2006, representing one of four seats taken by the Democrats in Pennsylvania. Hart has announced her candidacy in a bid to win a rematch. Altmire had success in 2006 because he was able to appeal to both the suburban vote and the urban vote, which makes him a difficult candidate to unseat. Altmire's voting record reflects his desire to be a moderate. He has built one of the least liberal voting records among House Democrats. On legislative votes in 2007 that pitted most members of one party against most members of the other party, Altmire followed the consensus Democratic position 77.1 percent of the time — the sixth-lowest “party unity” score among House Democrats, and the second-lowest such score of any House Democrat outside the South.

Jason Altmire (Dem) - Incumbent
Ron Francis (Rep) - Former Allegheny County Councilman
Melissa Hart (Rep) - Former Congresswoman

5th District - John Peterson (Rep)

North central and northwest, State College

John Peterson (Rep) - Incumbent

6th District - Jim Gerlach (Rep)

Southeast, Parts of Montgomery, Berks and Chester counties

This district qualifies as a near miss for the Democrats in 2006. Jim Gerlach avoided defeat by a mere percentage point and continues to fend off well-funded Democrats cycle after cycle. This Philadelphia-based district will be targeted again, but battle-tested Gerlach will certainly be ready.

Jim Gerlach (Rep) - Incumbent
Melissa Fitzgerald (Dem) - Actress and Daughter of State Supreme Court Justice James Fitzgerald

7th District - Joe Sestak (Dem)

Southeast, Philadelphia's Delaware county suburbs

Joe Sestak unseated Curt Weldon in 2006. Because of its demographics, this district in southeast Pennsylvania will be difficult for the GOP to win back. Democrats can expect a challenge, but with the power of incumbency now on our side this will be a tough win for Republicans.

Sticking with their strategy of recruiting as many former military personnel as possible to run against Democrats, the GOP has recruited federal prosecutor and decorated veteran of the first Gulf War W. Craig Williams to challenge Democratic U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak in this year's 7th Congressional District race.

Joe Sestak seeks to defend his seat with a significant financial advantage, he recently said he expected to close out 2007 with $1.7 million cash on hand, a healthy amount. His spokesman, Clarence Tong, said Sestak is focused on "ending the war in Iraq and helping more children in Pennsylvania get the health care they need" - not the November election

Joe Sestak (Dem) - Incumbent
Steve Elliott (Rep) - Attorney
Tim Pulte (Rep) - Real Estate Developer
Curt Weldon (Rep) - Former incumbent (defeated in 2006)

8th District - Patrick Murphy (Dem)

Southeast, northern Philadelphia suburbs

Democrat Patrick Murphy defeated incumbent Mike Fitzpatrick by less than a percentage point in 2006, which suggests that this seat could be a target for the GOP in 2008. Murphy, the only Iraq war veteran currently serving in Congress, co-authored legislation for a 21st-century GI Bill of Rights and focused on several local issues in his first term. Intial rumors suggested that Fitzpatrick was planning to run for his former seat in 2008, but this now appears unlikely. Fitzpatrick introduced potential candidate Thomas Manion, a USMC reservist and father of a Marine killed in Iraq, at an event last week and it now appears likely that Manion is the future candidate. This is a very cometitve district, which went to John Kerry in 2004 by a thin margin of 51%-48%.

Patrick Murphy (Dem) - Incumbent
David Denoon (Rep) - College Professor
Mike Fitzpatrick (Rep) - Former Congressman

9th District - Bill Shuster (Rep)

South central, Altoona

Bill Shuster (Rep) - Incumbent
Tony Barr (Dem) - Teacher and 2006 Nominee

10th District - Chris Carney (Dem)

Northeast corner

This seat went to Chris Carney in 2006 largely because revelations about former Congressman Don Sherwood’s personal life came out during the campaign. In 2008, northeastern Pennsylvania will be the setting for a tough campaign. Several Republicans have already announced their candidacy for the seat including: Businessman Chris Hackett defeated opponent Dan Meuser in the GOP primary on April 22. Given the resources that Hackett had to utilize during the competitive primary, Congressman Carney will begin the race with a substantial financial advantage.

This seat probably represents the most vulnerable of the Democratic seats in Pennsylvania. Republicans outnumber Democrats in the district.

Chris Carney (Dem) - Incumbent
Lisa Baker (Rep) - State Senator and Former Gubernatorial Aide
Karen Boback (Rep) - State Representative and Teacher
Don Ely (Rep) - Teacher and GOP Activist
Brett Feese (Rep) - State Representative
Chris Hackett (Rep) - Staffing Company President
Jim Haggerty (Rep) - Kingston Mayor
Dan Meuser (Rep) - Businessman
Joe Peters (Rep) - Former US Justice Department Official, Former Police Officer and 2004 State Auditor Nominee

11th District - Paul Kanjorski (Dem)

Northeast, Wilkes-Barre, Scranton

Paul Kanjorski (Dem) - Incumbent
Lou Barletta (Rep) - Hazleton Mayor, Businessman, Anti-Illegal Immigration Activist and 2002 Nominee

12th District - John Murtha (Dem)

Southwest, Johnstown

John Murtha (Dem) - Incumbent

13th District - Allyson Schwartz (Dem)

Southeast, Northeast Philadelphia - part of Montgomery county

Allyson Schwartz (Dem) - Incumbent

14th District - Mike Doyle (Dem)

West, Pittsburgh and suburbs

Mike Doyle (Dem) - Incumbent

15th District - Charlie Dent (Rep)

East, Allentown, Bethlehem

Charlie Dent (Rep) - Incumbent
Sam Bennett (Dem) - Allentown Democratic Chair and 2005 Allentown Mayor Candidate
Lisa Boscola (Dem) - State Senator
Don Cunningham (Dem) - Lehigh County Executive, Former Bethlehem Mayor and Former State Cabinet Member
Jennifer Mann (Dem) - State Representative
T J Rooney (Dem) - State Democratic Chair and Former State Representative

16th District - Joe Pitts (Rep)

Southeast, Lancaster

Joe Pitts (Rep) - Incumbent
Bruce Slater (Dem) - General Contractor and Democratic Activist

17th District - Tim Holden (Dem)

South central, Harrisburg

Tim Holden (Dem) - Incumbent

18th District - Tim Murphy (Rep)

West, Parts of Allegheny, Westmoreland and Washington counties

Tim Murphy (Rep) - Incumbent
Beth Hafer (Dem) - Businesswoman and Daughter of Former State Treasurer Barbara Hafer
George Matta (Dem) - Allegheny County Clerk of Courts
Stan Savran (Dem) - Sports Broadcaster
James Brien Wall (Dem)
Dan Wholey (Dem) - Businessman

19th District - Todd Platts (Rep)

South central, York

Todd Platts (Rep) - Incumbent