Mike Fitzpatrick, the 8th district challenger in Bucks County who George Will writes about in his column today, is up a somewhat shocking 14 points among likely voters against incumbent Pat Murphy, according to a poll released by Franklin & Marshall.

Republican Charlie Dent of the 15th district, which includes Allentown — the same district Pat Toomey represented from 1999-2005 – is getting hit by his opponent for making light of his position on the House Ethics Committee. The “smoking gun” is from a video of a poolside fundraiser with John Boehner, but it’s unlikely to resonate. Another political non-controversy.

Pay-to-play politics could be rearing its head in Harrisburg. Trial lawyer advocates have reportedly given tens of thousands to various politicians just as a major liability bill is coming up for a vote in the legislature that could mean hefty increases in insurance rates for Pennsylvanians. Battle ‘10 will follow this story.

Jim Gerlach, moderate Republican who’s held his seat despite numerous razor-thin wins over the past decade, is faulting his opponent, Manan Trivedi, for his lack of residency in Berks County. The problem? Trivedi was serving at least part of that time overseas in Iraq. Whoops.