A movement is growing at Daily Kos to fix a key problem in our party — regardless of whether Hillary, Martin, or Bernie wins the presidential nomination. In the past couple of months we’ve launched Crowdsourcing the 50-State Strategy and are recruiting activists to join us in this long-term, bottom-up rebuilding process.
If you are interested in volunteering to help with this effort please send our group a kosmail and let us know how you want to help. Navajo, who is organizing volunteers, will send you an invite. Also please post your own diaries and recommend the work of others you think are good additions to the effort.
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The problem is a massive candidate recruiting failure that will result in many voters having no Democrat to choose when they go vote in November 2016.
One example of this recruiting failure is US House races:
- We need to pick up 30 seats to win back the House and actually have a shot at governing
- 16 of the 79 Republican Members of the House of Representatives who represent districts where President Obama got at least 47% of the vote currently are running unopposed
- 97 Republican Members of the House of Representatives currently have no Democrat running against them
- In many of the seats where we have candidates, those candidates do not have the resources currently to get their message out
- Filing deadlines have passed in 7 states and we have already left 16 seats uncontested
- In 2014 we left 38 seats uncontested
- In 2012 we left 24 seats uncontested
- In 2010 we left 24 seats uncontested
- In 2008 we left 12 seats uncontested
- In 2006 we left 11 seats uncontested
- In 2004 (before the 50 State Strategy) we left 36 seats uncontested
- Pennsylvania’s Congressional filing deadline is February 16, 2016 and currently 5 out of 15 Republicans in Pennsylvania are running unopposed
But sadly the recruiting failure is often even worse at the state and local level. We don’t want people to experience what Steven D did – that he wrote about in his Recommended Diary – that when he showed up to vote this past November many of his local races in Upstate NY didn’t have a Democrat on the ballot. That is even sadder because many of those districts are small enough that door knocking, volunteers, and neighbor-to-neighbor communication can have much more impact than money alone.
We as a community can crowdsource our way out of this problem and ensure voters have meaningful choices when they go vote.
Will you join us in this fight now?
You can help by drafting or recommending diaries on the following:
- Candidate recruiting needs
- Profiles on down ballot races where candidates are needed
- These could be organized by state or some other category like open seats or seats in districts where the median household income is below $39,000
- These could include ideas on where incumbents are vulnerable (votes they took at odds with their constituents needs, scandals, crazy statements, etc)
- Filing procedures
- To start a draft movement or report on draft movements
You can also use your expertise to help campaigns as Chris Reeves lays out in this diary.
This is the next installment in a series of diaries by a group of us here in the DKos Community to Crowdsource a 50-State Strategy.
In this installment we will look in-depth at Pennsylvania.
Join me below the fold for my outline of the current situation in US House races in Pennsylvania (draft movements can take time, so we need to start now on the states with deadlines in February and beyond):
- Please add to or correct anything I get wrong
- Please do your own versions for other states and/or for state and local races and post them on DKos and cross post them on state and local blogs for the areas you write about
Note: Potential Candidates are names that – as Daily Kos Elections would put it – the Great Mentioner has tossed their names out as people who might run, but they may or may not be taking any steps to think about running.
Pennsylvania Filing Deadline: February 16, 2016
PA-1
2008: Obama 78% McCain 22%
2012: Obama 82% Romney 17%
Cook Partisan Index: D+28
Median Household Income: $40,731
Demographics: 32.8% Black, 6.8% Asian, .2% Native American, 42.2% White, 8.4% Other, 2% Two or more; Hispanic or Latino 15.9%
Veterans/active duty: 5.3%
Urban 90.1% Suburban 9.9% Rural 0%
% of Voting Age Turnout Voting in 2012: 59.6%
Incumbent: Robert Brady (D)
Current Opponents:
-
Bryan Leib (D) - Businessman & Democratic Activist
- Nick Gibson - (Independent)
District background:
- Philadelphia (City Center and eastern sections) and parts of Delaware County
PA-2
2008: Obama 91% McCain 9%
2012: Obama 90% Romney 9%
Cook Partisan Index: D+38
Median Household Income: $34,928
Demographics: 58.1% Black, 4.5% Asian, .2% Native American, 29.4% White, 3% Other, 1.6% Two or more; Hispanic or Latino 5.5%
Veterans/active duty: 5.4%
Urban 92.4% Suburban 7.6% Rural 0%
% of Voting Age Turnout Voting in 2012: 69.2%
Incumbent: Chaka Fattah (D)
Current Opponents:
-
Dwight Evans (D) - State Rep., Ex-Teacher, '94 Gov. Candidate & '99/'07 Philadelphia Mayor Candidate
-
Brian Gordon (D) - Lower Merion Township Commissioner, Attorney & '10 Candidate
-
Dan Muroff (D) - Philadelphia's 9th Ward Democratic Leader, Attorney & Ex-Congressional Aide
-
Brian Sims (D) - State Rep., Attorney & LGBT Activist
District background:
- North and West Philadelphia and Montgomery County
PA-3
2008: Obama 46% McCain 52%
2012: Obama 43% Romney 56%
Cook Partisan Index: R+8
Median Household Income: $46,627
Demographics: 4.4% Black, .8% Asian, .1% Native American, 91.2% White, .5% Other, 1.3% Two or more; Hispanic or Latino 2.1%
Veterans/active duty: 10%
Urban 19.5% Suburban 48.3% Rural 32.2%
% of Voting Age Turnout Voting in 2012: 56.3%
Incumbent: Mike Kelly (R)
Current Opponents: None
District background:
- Northwest Pennsylvania, part of Erie, Pittsburgh Exurbs, Butler County
About Mike Kelly:
- Owns a car dealership (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1415)
- Was on Butler City Council 2004-2009 (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1414)
- Gave an August 2012 floor speech comparing a regulation requiring insurers to provide women birth control without a copayment to the September 11th terrorist attacks and the attack on Pearl Harbor (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1416)
- Voted for Keystone Pipeline (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1542)
- Voted against Medical Marijuana (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1542)
- Voted to defund Planned Parenthood (The Almanac of American Politics 2014, p. 1414)
- Voted to repeal Obamacare (The Almanac of American Politics 2014, p. 1414)
- Voted for Ryan Budget (The Almanac of American Politics 2014, p. 1414)
-
As of September 30, 2015 only has $524,830 cash on hand (www.fec.gov)
PA-4
2008: Obama 45% McCain 54%
2012: Obama 42% Romney 57%
Cook Partisan Index: R+9
Median Household Income: $56,287
Demographics: 7.3% Black, 1.9% Asian, .1% Native American, 82.5% White, 2.6% Other, 1.9% Two or more; Hispanic or Latino 6.1%
Veterans/active duty: 9.5%
Urban 46.5% Suburban 51.5% Rural 2%
% of Voting Age Turnout Voting in 2012: 58%
Incumbent: Scott Perry (R)
Current Opponents: None
District background:
- South Central Pennsylvania, York, Harrisburg, Gettysburg, York, Hanover
- Harrisburg is 52% Black
- Hanover has growing Hispanic population
- District hasn’t been seriously contested by Democrats since before former moderate Republican congressman retired
About Scott Perry:
-
As of September 30, 2015 only has $192,504 cash on hand (www.fec.gov)
- “Considerably more conservative than his predecessor” (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1546)
- Ran 2012 campaign on “traditional marriage” (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1546)
- Disgraced former Republican Governor Tom Corbett strongly backed him in open seat primary (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1547)
- In 2002 the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office (under a Republican Attorney General) accused Perry of falsifying reports to the state Environmental Protection Department (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1547)
- Served from 2007-2012 in State House of Representatives (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1545)
- In State Legislature he proposed legislation that would force Pennsylvania to decline federal money to set up health exchanges (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1547)
- Past President of Pennsylvania Young Republicans (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1547)
- Voted for Keystone Pipeline (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1545)
PA-5
2008: Obama 47% McCain 52%
2012: Obama 41% Romney 57%
Cook Partisan Index: R+8
Median Household Income: $45,001
Demographics: 2.2% Black, 1.7% Asian, .3% Native American, 93.1% White, .3% Other, 1% Two or more; Hispanic or Latino 1.7%
Veterans/active duty: 9.7%
Urban 19% Suburban 13.1% Rural 67.9%
% of Voting Age Turnout Voting in 2012: 52.1%
Incumbent: Glenn Thompson (R)
Current Opponents:
District background:
- North Central Pennsylvania, State College, Parts of Erie
- Penn State is located in State College
- Fracking area
- Democrats haven’t strongly contested this district since before moderate Republican congressman retired in 2008, though underfunded Democrat Clearfield County Commissioner Mark McCraken got 41% having spent little money and with no national support (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1550)
About Glenn Thompson:
- Opposes what he sees as excessive energy regulation (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1549)
- Uses seat on Natural Resources Committee to push for more Fracking (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1550)
- He dismissed claims that Fracking contaminates groundwater (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1550)
- Opposed to EPA efforts to protect the Chesapeake Bay from agriculture related pollution (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1550)
- Voted for Keystone Pipeline (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1548)
- Voted against Medical Marijuana (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1548)
- Voted for the Ryan Budget (The Almanac of American Politics 2014, p. 1419)
- Voted to defund Planned Parenthood (The Almanac of American Politics 2014, p. 1419)
- Voted to repeal Obamacare (The Almanac of American Politics 2014, p. 1419)
-
As of September 30, 2015 only has $381,402 cash on hand (www.fec.gov)
PA-6
2008: Obama 53% McCain 46%
2012: Obama 48% Romney 51%
Cook Partisan Index: R+2
Median Household Income: $73,826
Demographics: 4.1% Black, 4.2% Asian, .1% Native American, 85.2% White, 1.3% Other, 1.7% Two or more; Hispanic or Latino 4.7%
Veterans/active duty: 7.6%
Urban 20.1% Suburban 79.4% Rural .6%
% of Voting Age Turnout Voting in 2012: 64.7%
Incumbent: Ryan Costello (R)
Current Opponents:
District background:
- Southeast Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Exurbs, Reading
- Includes many affluent Main Line Suburbs
About Ryan Costello:
- Won open seat race in 2014 when only 39.8% of district voters turned out to vote (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1551)
- The NRA spent money to get him elected (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1552)
- Accused in 2014 of steering lucrative contracts for Chester County to the company of a campaign donor (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1552)
PA-7
2008: Obama 53% McCain 46%
2012: Obama 49% Romney 50%
Cook Partisan Index: R+2
Median Household Income: $81,186
Demographics: 5.5% Black, 3.9% Asian, .1% Native American, 85.9% White, .5% Other, 1.3% Two or more; Hispanic or Latino 3.2%
Veterans/active duty: 7%
Urban 26.7% Suburban 73.3% Rural 0%
% of Voting Age Turnout Voting in 2012: 67.8%
Incumbent: Pat Meehan (R)
Current Opponents:
District background:
- Philadelphia Suburbs, Delaware County, Chester County, Berks County, Montgomery County, Lancaster County
About Pat Meehan:
- US Attorney from 2001-2008 when there was a lot of politicization and scandal with US Attorneys was going on, was he tied to any of it?
- Voted for Keystone Pipeline (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1553)
- Voted against Medical Marijuana (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1553)
- Voted to defund Planned Parenthood (The Almanac of American Politics 2014, p. 1424)
- Voted for the Ryan Budget (The Almanac of American Politics 2014, p. 1424)
- Voted to repeal Obamacare (The Almanac of American Politics 2014, p. 1424)
- Has participated in an annual congressional hockey game between lawmakers and lobbyists (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1555)
PA-8
2008: Obama 53% McCain 46%
2012: Obama 49% Romney 49%
Cook Partisan Index: R+1
Median Household Income: $73,522
Demographics: 3.6% Black, 4% Asian, .1% Native American, 86.7% White, 1.1% Other, 1.3% Two or more; Hispanic or Latino 4.3%
Veterans/active duty: 7.4%
Urban 0% Suburban 100% Rural 0%
% of Voting Age Turnout Voting in 2012: 67.8%
Incumbent: Open Seat (Mike Fitzpatrick is retiring) (R)
Current Candidates:
Potential Candidates:
-
Frank Farry (R) - State Rep., Attorney & Volunteer Firefighter
- Brian Fitzpatrick (R) - Retired FBI Agent & Brother of Cong. Mike Fitzpatrick
-
Rob Loughery (R) - Bucks County Commissioner
- Tom Manion (R) - Businessman, Retired USMC Officer & '08 Nominee
-
Chuck McIlhinney (R) - State Sen. & Ex-Doylestown Borough Councilman
District background:
- Philadelphia Suburbs, Bucks County
PA-9
2008: Obama 41% McCain 58%
2012: Obama 36% Romney 63%
Cook Partisan Index: R+14
Median Household Income: $45,942
Demographics: 3% Black, .6% Asian, .2% Native American, 93.3% White, .4% Other, 1.2% Two or more; Hispanic or Latino 1.8%
Veterans/active duty: 10.4%
Urban 23% Suburban 37.8% Rural 39.2%
% of Voting Age Turnout Voting in 2012: 50.6%
Incumbent: Bill Shuster (R)
Current Opponents:
- No Democrat
-
Art Halverson (R) - Businessman, Retired Coast Guard Captain & '14 Candidate
District background:
- South Central Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh Exurbs, Altoona, Indiana (yes, Pennsylvania), California (yes, Pennsylvania), Chambersburg
- National Democrats have not contested the seat since before Bill Shuster inherited the seat from his dad, though an upstart H. Scott Conklin campaign vigorously in 2001 Special Election and got 44% of vote to Shuster’s 52% (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1561)
About Bill Shuster:
- Son of longtime Congressman and Transportation Committee Chair Bud Shuster (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1560)
- Owned a car dealership Shuster (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1560)
- Like his dad before him, he is now Chair of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1559)
- Wants to limit high speed rail to Northeast Corridor and privatize it Shuster (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1561)
- Opposed to funding bike and pedestrian projects (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1561)
- Said at January 2012 transportation conference: “When you start getting into the inner city, the federal government has less of a role to play” (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1561)
- Sponsored a bill that became law that cracked down on unauthorized intercity bus operators (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1561)
- Added an amendment to an aviation bill in March 2011 requiring the FAA to give more weight to economic factors before adopting safety rules (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1561)
- Voted for Keystone Pipeline (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1559)
- Voted for the Ryan Budget (The Almanac of American Politics 2014, p. 1430)
- Voted to defund Planned Parenthood (The Almanac of American Politics 2014, p. 1430)
- Voted to repeal Obamacare (The Almanac of American Politics 2014, p. 1430)
- Only got 53% in primary in 2014 and faces rematch with same Tea Partier (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1559 and http://politics1.com/pa.htm)
PA-10
2008: Obama 42% McCain 57%
2012: Obama 39% Romney 60%
Cook Partisan Index: R+12
Median Household Income: $50,007
Demographics: 3.1% Black, .7% Asian, .1% Native American, 91.1% White, .6% Other, 1.3% Two or more; Hispanic or Latino 3.6%
Veterans/active duty: 10.4%
Urban 14.2% Suburban 24.1% Rural 61.7%
% of Voting Age Turnout Voting in 2012: 51.2%
Incumbent: Tom Marino (R)
Current Opponents: None
District background:
- Northeast Pennsylvania
- 21.7% of Housing vacant (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1563)
- Pike County is growing rapidly as people from NY and NJ move in to get lower taxes (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1563)
About Tom Marino:
-
As of September 30, 2015 only has $276,955 cash on hand (www.fec.gov)
- His campaign slogans focus on his toughness, so if he could be highlighted as a fraidy-cat this might puncture his image (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1564)
- US Attorney for Pennsylvania’s Middle District 2002-2007, with jurisdiction over the State College area, was there anything he failed to do on Sandusky? (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1564)
- Served as a reference for Louis DeNaples on an application for a gambling license for the Mount Airy Casino Resort while his office was investigating DeNaples on another matter and then became an in-house counsel for DeNaples after he resigned as the US Attorney
- Voted for Keystone Pipeline (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1562)
- Voted against Medical Marijuana (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1562)
- Voted to defund Planned Parenthood (The Almanac of American Politics 2014, p. 1433)
- Voted for the Ryan Budget (The Almanac of American Politics 2014, p. 1433)
- Voted to repeal Obamacare (The Almanac of American Politics 2014, p. 1433)
PA-11
2008: Obama 47% McCain 52%
2012: Obama 45% Romney 54%
Cook Partisan Index: R+6
Median Household Income: $51,135
Demographics: 4.7% Black, 1.4% Asian, .1% Native American, 87.2% White, 1.7% Other, 1.5% Two or more; Hispanic or Latino 4.7%
Veterans/active duty: 10.3%
Urban 31.9% Suburban 44.6% Rural 23.6%
% of Voting Age Turnout Voting in 2012: 53.3%
Incumbent: Lou Barletta (R)
Current Opponents:
District background:
- Northeast and Central Pennsylvania, Carlisle, Hazleton, Harrisburg area, Wilkes-Barre Suburbs
About Lou Barletta:
- Strongly anti-immigrant
-
As of September 30, 2015 only has $224,193 cash on hand (www.fec.gov)
- Voted against Medical Marijuana (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1565)
- Voted to defund Planned Parenthood (The Almanac of American Politics 2014, p. 1435)
- Voted for the Ryan Budget (The Almanac of American Politics 2014, p. 1435)
- Voted to repeal Obamacare (The Almanac of American Politics 2014, p. 1435)
PA-12
2008: Obama 45% McCain 54%
2012: Obama 41% Romney 58%
Cook Partisan Index: R+9
Median Household Income: $54,765
Demographics: 3.1% Black, 1.3% Asian, .1% Native American, 91.2% White, .4% Other, 1.2% Two or more; Hispanic or Latino 1%
Veterans/active duty: 9.8%
Urban 29.2% Suburban 58% Rural 12.8%
% of Voting Age Turnout Voting in 2012: 63%
Incumbent: Keith Rothfus (R)
Current Opponents:
District background:
- Northern Pittsburgh Suburbs, Johnstown
About Keith Rothfus:
- Former Associate Dean at extremist right-right wing Regent University School of Law (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1569)
- Voted for Keystone Pipeline (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1568)
- Could someone research where he stands on Fracking? I think that would be a good area to explore.
- Voted against Medical Marijuana (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1568)
PA-13
2008: Obama 65% McCain 34%
2012: Obama 66% Romney 33%
Cook Partisan Index: D+13
Median Household Income: $54,355
Demographics: 17.4% Black, 8.3% Asian, .2% Native American, 61.3% White, 4.1% Other, 2.1% Two or more; Hispanic or Latino 10.7%
Veterans/active duty: 6.9%
Urban 63.3% Suburban 36.7% Rural 0%
% of Voting Age Turnout Voting in 2012: 63.6%
Incumbent: Brendan Boyle (D)
Current Opponents: None
District background:
- Montgomery County and Northeast Philadelphia
PA-14
2008: Obama 67% McCain 32%
2012: Obama 68% Romney 31%
Cook Partisan Index: D+15
Median Household Income: $41,213
Demographics: 21.5% Black, 2.8% Asian, .2% Native American, 70.7% White, .6% Other, 2.5% Two or more; Hispanic or Latino 2.1%
Veterans/active duty: 8.8%
Urban 62.2% Suburban 37.8% Rural 0%
% of Voting Age Turnout Voting in 2012: 59.7%
Incumbent: Mike Doyle (D)
Current Opponents:
District background:
PA-15
2008: Obama 52% McCain 47%
2012: Obama 48% Romney 51%
Cook Partisan Index: R+2
Median Household Income: $57,598
Demographics: 3.2% Black, 2.4% Asian, .1% Native American, 79.1% White, 3.7% Other, 1.9% Two or more; Hispanic or Latino 13.2%
Veterans/active duty: 8.1%
Urban 41.4% Suburban 55.5% Rural 3.1%
% of Voting Age Turnout Voting in 2012: 58.3%
Incumbent: Charlie Dent (R)
Current Opponents:
- Archie Follweiler (D) - Ex-Kutztown Borough Councilman, Realtor & '06 State Rep. Candidate (No website yet and no money raised)
District background:
- East Central Pennsylvania, Allentown, Hamburg, most of Bethlehem, Hershey, part of Middletown next to Penn State-Harrisburg and Three Mile Island
- Lehigh, Muhlenburg, and Moravian colleges are in the district (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1576)
- The Morning Call of Allentown is “a strong newspaper” according to The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1576
- Lehigh Valley’s population increased almost 12% from 2000 to 2010 (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1576)
- Unemployment rate in the Lehigh Valley was 7.2% in April 2015 down from 13% three years earlier (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1576)
- When this district was an open seat in 2004 the Democrats ran a carpetbagger who grew up in Massachusetts sailing with the Kennedys and lived for years as an adult in Lower Merion, a “posh” Philadelphia suburb, while the district was struggling economically (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1576)
About Charlie Dent:
- Ran unopposed in 2014
- Chairman of the House Ethics Committee, so an opponent could ask “Do you think Congress does a good job enforcing its own ethics right now? He is the guy responsible” (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1576)
- Voted for Keystone Pipeline (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1575)
- Voted against Medical Marijuana (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1575)
- Voted for the Ryan Budget (The Almanac of American Politics 2014, p. 1445)
- Voted to repeal Obamacare (The Almanac of American Politics 2014, p. 1445)
PA-16
2008: Obama 50% McCain 49%
2012: Obama 46% Romney 52%
Cook Partisan Index: R+4
Median Household Income: $54,033
Demographics: 5.4% Black, 1.6% Asian, .1% Native American, 85.2% White, 3.7% Other, 1.6% Two or more; Hispanic or Latino 16.8%
Veterans/active duty: 8%
Urban 39.5% Suburban 60.3% Rural .2% (this data is from the Almanac of American Politics 2016, but it doesn’t look accurate to me, because this district includes a big chunk on Amish and Mennonite areas with significant amount of rural areas)
% of Voting Age Turnout Voting in 2012: 58.3%
Incumbent: Open Seat (Joe Pitts is retiring) (R)
Current Candidates:
- Jeff Bartos (R) - Businessman, Attorney & Philanthropist
-
Chet Beiler (R) - Businessman, Ex-Lancaster County GOP Chair, '10 Lt.Gov. Candidate & '08 Auditor Gen. Nominee
- Craig Davis (R) - Nurse & Army Veteran
-
Lloyd Smucker (R) - State Sen., Ex- West Lampeter Township Supervisor & Construction Contractor
- Tom Wentzel (R) - Eastern Lancaster County School Board Member & '14 State Rep. Candidate
- Brad Witmer (R)
-
Christina Hartman (D) - Consultant & Ex-Non-Profit Group Executive
-
Raj Kittappa (D) - Stem Cell Scientist & '14 Candidate
-
Gary Wegman (D) - Dentist, Real Estate Investor & Farmer
-
Ed Haggerty (Independent) - Computer Consultant & Retired Navy NCO
District background:
- South Central Pennsylvania, Lancaster, Reading
- Significant Amish and Mennonite communities, though the Amish rarely vote (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1578-1579)
- Reading is 58% Hispanic and is one of the poorest cities in America, despite being a superb purchase when combined with other railroads in Monopoly (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1579, though The Almanac of American Politics mentions nothing about the game Monopoly)
- Lancaster County is the second fastest growing county in the state and includes 75% of the districts population
PA-17
2008: Obama 57% McCain 42%
2012: Obama 55% Romney 43%
Cook Partisan Index: D+4
Median Household Income: $45,896
Demographics: 5.3% Black, 1.7% Asian, .2% Native American, 85.9% White, 5.7% Other, 1.3% Two or more; Hispanic or Latino 7.6%
Veterans/active duty: 9%
Urban 33.2% Suburban 48.6% Rural 18.2%
% of Voting Age Turnout Voting in 2012: 51.7%
Incumbent: Matt Cartwright (D)
Current Opponents:
District background:
- North Central Pennsylvania, Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Allentown
PA-18
2008: Obama 44% McCain 55%
2012: Obama 41% Romney 58%
Cook Partisan Index: R+10
Median Household Income: $59,277
Demographics: 2.3% Black, 1.6% Asian, .1% Native American, 93.3% White, 1.8% Other, 1.1% Two or more; Hispanic or Latino 1.4%
Veterans/active duty: 9.3%
Urban 18.6% Suburban 72.1% Rural 9.3%
% of Voting Age Turnout Voting in 2012: 62.6%
Incumbent: Tim Murphy (R)
Current Opponents:
District background:
- Southwest Pittsburg Suburbs, Bethel Park, Washington, Greensburg, Greene County
- Washington and Jefferson College in Washington, PA
- Greene County
About Tim Murphy:
- Ran unopposed in 2014
- “Draws just enough backing from unions to avoid serious Democratic challenges” (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1584), but maybe this is changing after he reversed his position on secret ballots in votes to unionize in 2012 when it actually had a chance to pass (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1585) and as unions see the damage the Republican majorities he enables are doing?
- Child psychologist who became well-known locally offering advice in television appearances and on radio talk shows (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1584)
- Co-authored the book The Angry Child: Regaining Control When Your Child is Out of Control (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1584)
- When he won the open seat in 2002 in what had been a historically Democratic area he received extensive support from state and national Republicans and outspent his Democratic opponent nearly 8-to-1 (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1585)
- Pushed to limit regulation on Fracking (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1585)
- Is interested in promoting small “modular” nuclear reactors that could power individual neighborhoods (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1585)
- Voted with most Republicans to give Trade Promotion Authority to President Obama in June 2015 (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1585)
- Voted for Keystone Pipeline (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1583)
- Voted against Medical Marijuana (The Almanac of American Politics 2016, p. 1583)
- Voted to defund Planned Parenthood (The Almanac of American Politics 2014, p. 1452)
- Voted for the Ryan Budget (The Almanac of American Politics 2014, p. 1452)
- Voted to repeal Obamacare (The Almanac of American Politics 2014, p. 1452)
Background on the Crowdsourcing project:
The Crowdsourcing Steering Committee comprises Chris Reeves, evcoren, Meteor Blades and navajo. If you’d like to join this group, send our group a kosmail and let us know how you want to help. Navajo, who is organizing volunteers, will send you an invite. Also, please post your own diaries and recommend the work of others you think would be good additions to the effort.
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