Staffers for the late Rep. John P. Murtha D-Pa. are hoping one of their own will be the standard-bearer in the special election but at this point its still an open field since the late lawmakers wife announced she will not run for the seat.
Mark Critz Murthas district director made it clear Monday that he will enter the special election for the seat scheduled for May 18 which has already attracted two prominent statewide Democrats.
Critz resigned from his official duties on Monday the same day Joyce Murtha announced through a spokesman she was not going to run. Murtha died Feb. 8 from complications following gallbladder surgery.
It will be a tough race but someone who comes with the issue base that Mark has will have an easier time than some of the other people who have been mentioned so far" said Ed Mitchell Murthas longtime media consultant who said he hopes to work with Critz but has not yet spoken with him about his bid.
Local party officials in both parties will meet at separate nominating conferences next month to pick their nominee for the special election. Meanwhile candidates seeking a full term must collect the requisite number of signatures to turn in on March 9 to run in the statewide primary on the same day.
With anti-incumbent fever sweeping the country its unclear who local party officials will favor a former Murtha staffer or other well-known local candidates such as former Lt. Gov. Mark Singel or former state Treasurer Barbara Hafer.
Republicans are attempting to target the seat but the special election falls on a primary day when several other competitive races are likely to bring Democrats out in high numbers.
Singel initially said he would defer to Joyce Murtha. With her decision hes charging ahead with his campaign he said in a phone interview Monday. Many local Republicans see him as the candidate to beat in the special election because he is well known in the district. National Democrats however note that he spent the last 10 years in Harrisburg as a lobbyist and lost two bids for office in the 1990s.
Lobbyists are like cholesterol" Singel said. Too many of them can clog your arteries but it takes a little good cholesterol to get your system working right. Im the good cholesterol."
Hafer meanwhile said she has plans to meet with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee this week. As a statewide office holder from 1989 to 2005 she has strong name identification in the district but the nominating conference could be another matter. Hafer was a Republican but switched parties in 2003.
There are other Democrats in the race though they are much less likely to get the nomination. Cambria County Comptroller Ed Cernic Jr. announced Monday while former Cambria County Comptroller Albert Penksa is considering a bid. Navy veteran Ryan Bucchianeri has been in the race for several months.
Several local Democrats grumbled that Murtha staffers are scrambling to help a colleague win the seat in order to guarantee their future employment. Murtha and his top aides are well known in the 12th district which has received a significant amount of federal funds for local projects in part because of Murthas spot on the Appropriations Committee.
Theres no official word on whether Joyce Murtha will make any endorsement. Mitchell speculated that if she does he believes it would be Critz. Although he said hes uncertain that she would insert herself into the political race she might do so for the welfare for the staff" of her late husband.
The calendar for the weeks ahead is expected to be verified by Wednesday although one suggested schedule requires that candidates submit their names by March 3 and local officials would meet to nominate a candidate on March 6. The state executive committee will verify the decision March 8 one day before the filing deadline to run for a full term for the seat.
Pennsylvania Republicans were initially optimistic about the district because the GOP presidential ticket won it in 2008 by a slim margin. But Republicans dont have other competitive primaries to help drive turnout.
It also appears Republicans have not found a top-tier candidate leaving one national Republican to groan theres no bench" for the GOP in southwestern Pennsylvania.
Much of the GOPs hope rests on how much of his own money businesman Tim Burns would be willing to put in the race. While money wont win the nomination among party insiders picking their candidate at their March 11 confab party officials would certainly look favorably on a candidate able to put big money into his own campaign.
Burns has already loaned himself $75000 for the race according to his last finance report at the end of 2009 and he has $74000 cash on hand.
I can tell you as his media consultant hes equally fiscally conservative when it comes to his own campaign" said Pennsylvania GOP consultant John Brabender.
An ability to self-fund would be a key factor for the cash-strapped National Republican Congressional Committee which aided 2008 nominee Bill Russell by putting $500000 into his bid against Murtha only to lose that race by 16 percentage points.
Russell said in a phone interview that he has not heard from the NRCC but thats to be expected." Hes running in the special election but is gunning for the statewide primary on May 18 when he believes he will have an advantage because of name identification.
Staffers for the late Rep. John P. Murtha D-Pa. are hoping one of their own will be the standard-bearer in the special election but at this point its still an open field since the late lawmakers wife announced she will not run for the seat.
Mark Critz Murthas district director made it clear Monday that he will enter the special election for the seat scheduled for May 18 which has already attracted two prominent statewide Democrats.
Critz resigned from his official duties on Monday the same day Joyce Murtha announced through a spokesman she was not going to run. Murtha died Feb. 8 from complications following gallbladder surgery.
It will be a tough race but someone who comes with the issue base that Mark has will have an easier time than some of the other people who have been mentioned so far" said Ed Mitchell Murthas longtime media consultant who said he hopes to work with Critz but has not yet spoken with him about his bid.
Local party officials in both parties will meet at separate nominating conferences next month to pick their nominee for the special election. Meanwhile candidates seeking a full term must collect the requisite number of signatures to turn in on March 9 to run in the statewide primary on the same day.
With anti-incumbent fever sweeping the country its unclear who local party officials will favor a former Murtha staffer or other well-known local candidates such as former Lt. Gov. Mark Singel or former state Treasurer Barbara Hafer.
Republicans are attempting to target the seat but the special election falls on a primary day when several other competitive races are likely to bring Democrats out in high numbers.
Singel initially said he would defer to Joyce Murtha. With her decision hes charging ahead with his campaign he said in a phone interview Monday. Many local Republicans see him as the candidate to beat in the special election because he is well known in the district. National Democrats however note that he spent the last 10 years in Harrisburg as a lobbyist and lost two bids for office in the 1990s.
Lobbyists are like cholesterol" Singel said. Too many of them can clog your arteries but it takes a little good cholesterol to get your system working right. Im the good cholesterol."
Hafer meanwhile said she has plans to meet with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee this week. As a statewide office holder from 1989 to 2005 she has strong name identification in the district but the nominating conference could be another matter. Hafer was a Republican but switched parties in 2003.
There are other Democrats in the race though they are much less likely to get the nomination. Cambria County Comptroller Ed Cernic Jr. announced Monday while former Cambria County Comptroller Albert Penksa is considering a bid. Navy veteran Ryan Bucchianeri has been in the race for several months.
Several local Democrats grumbled that Murtha staffers are scrambling to help a colleague win the seat in order to guarantee their future employment. Murtha and his top aides are well known in the 12th district which has received a significant amount of federal funds for local projects in part because of Murthas spot on the Appropriations Committee.
Theres no official word on whether Joyce Murtha will make any endorsement. Mitchell speculated that if she does he believes it would be Critz. Although he said hes uncertain that she would insert herself into the political race she might do so for the welfare for the staff" of her late husband.
The calendar for the weeks ahead is expected to be verified by Wednesday although one suggested schedule requires that candidates submit their names by March 3 and local officials would meet to nominate a candidate on March 6. The state executive committee will verify the decision March 8 one day before the filing deadline to run for a full term for the seat.
Pennsylvania Republicans were initially optimistic about the district because the GOP presidential ticket won it in 2008 by a slim margin. But Republicans dont have other competitive primaries to help drive turnout.
It also appears Republicans have not found a top-tier candidate leaving one national Republican to groan theres no bench" for the GOP in southwestern Pennsylvania.
Much of the GOPs hope rests on how much of his own money businesman Tim Burns would be willing to put in the race. While money wont win the nomination among party insiders picking their candidate at their March 11 confab party officials would certainly look favorably on a candidate able to put big money into his own campaign.
Burns has already loaned himself $75000 for the race according to his last finance report at the end of 2009 and he has $74000 cash on hand.
I can tell you as his media consultant hes equally fiscally conservative when it comes to his own campaign" said Pennsylvania GOP consultant John Brabender.
An ability to self-fund would be a key factor for the cash-strapped National Republican Congressional Committee which aided 2008 nominee Bill Russell by putting $500000 into his bid against Murtha only to lose that race by 16 percentage points.
Russell said in a phone interview that he has not heard from the NRCC but thats to be expected." Hes running in the special election but is gunning for the statewide primary on May 18 when he believes he will have an advantage because of name identification.
