Eastern Pennsylvania has been a key battleground in the struggle for control of the House -- witness the DCCC's massive expenditure yesterday targeting GOP Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick. But now the contested terrain is spreading to Western Pennsylvania, too, reports CQ Politics. As a result, CQ has just changed its rating of the race between GOP Rep. Melissa Hart and Dem challenger Jason Altmire from "Republican Favored" to "Leans Republican." More of CQ's analysis after the jump.

Read more »

In the hotly contested race for the House seat in Pennsylvania’s 6^th district, a recent poll shows Republican incumbent Jim Gerlach maintaining a slight edge over his Democratic challenger Lois Murphy. However, according to G. Terry Madonna, who conducted the poll, the numbers show a distinct trend favoring change, as well as overall dissatisfaction with George W. Bush.

Read more »

This is kind of fun. The three most endangered GOP incumbents in Pennsylvania -- Mike Fitzpatrick, Jim Gerlach, and Curt Weldon -- are all competing with each other to prove their undying disloyalty to Bush. How? They're all pointing to what has become a bragging point in this campaign: their low scores in the party-loyalty ratings compiled by Congressional Quarterly. And the winner is...Fitzpatrick, who's apparently the third least loyal Republican among all 231 GOP House members.

A massive ad war is about to begin in the races in three contested Pennsylvania Congressional districts -- including the nationally watched race between GOP Rep. Curt Weldon and Dem challenger Joe Sestak. The National Republican Campaign Committee and its Dem counterpart have bought up an astoundingly high combined total of $16.1 million in campaign advertising for the three districts during the month leading up to the Nov. 7 election. More details on their buys after the jump.

Read more »

House GOP strategists are dumping huge sums of cash into the Northeast, in an effort to stave off electoral disaster in the region.

Read more »

Democrats Joe Sestak and Lois Murphy are gaining on their opponents, campaign finance reports show. Sestak, challenging Rep. Curt Weldon (R), raised $700,000 in the past quarter. Weldon raised only $400,000. Weldon’s 2004 Democratic challenger raised $24,000. Sestak has “nearly $1 million” on hand, according to his spokesman. Weldon has $1.14 million. "For a first-time candidate, it is very unusual to raise that kind of money, particularly against a longtime incumbent," Amy Walter, senior editor at the Cook Political Report told the Inquirer.

Read more »

Sen. Rick Santorum (R) might be damaging his relationship with senior Sen. Arlen Specter (R) with his tough immigration talk, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports today. They say he’s using his colleague as a “political piñata,” but Santorum’s the one who will get hurt if he loses Specter’s support.

Read more »

Rep. Jim Gerlach (R) knows his constituents aren’t very happy with the war in Iraq, or with the president. When Bush held a fundraiser for him last month, his fellow Pennsylvania congressman Curt Weldon decided not to come, saying "there's nothing the president can do to help me." But Gerlach’s concerns about reelection weren’t enough to make him cross the aisle during this weekend’s vote on the war in Iraq. He voted for the GOP-backed resolution but pushed for more Congressional oversight of the war.

Read more »