Senate

  • Pat Toomey responded to Joe Sestak’s latest ad, which to our knowledge is not yet online, which features Sestak cleaning up after his dog and likening it to the work he’s done in Congress on the economy. He blames Toomey. Jokingly, Toomey responded, “the cute little dog is [it’s] most redeeming feature.”
  • Nate Silver at the New York Times takes Joe Sestak’s rosy internal polls to task today, re-affirming his previous statement that Toomey is a 92 percent favorite to win Pennsylvania.
  • “Once painted as a renegade in moderate Pennsylvania,” writes Mark Arsenault in the Boston Globe, “Toomey is finding that his once-spurned conservative message is now resonating across the heartland of the Keystone State. As a result, the Republican nominee is leading in the polls and imperiling the Democrats’ hold on the US Senate.”

Gubernatorial

  • In news that will surprise no one, another public education group has endorsed Dan Onorato, saying his leadership would ensure not just continued funding for public schools, but increased funding over time. Onorato made headlines in August when he endorsed his own version of charter schools.
  • Gov. Ed Rendell is in the news again, this time in a New York Times piece looking at President Obama’s first two years in office. Rendell is quoted as grading the president, “B-plus, A-minus on substantive accomplishments and a D-plus or C-minus on communication.” He says the president should have been more aggressive in promoting actions like the health reform legislation.
  • The Jewish Exponent looks at the governor’s race through the lens of how Tom Corbett or Dan Onorato would preside over budget shortfalls that could significantly impact Jewish social services across the state, especially in Philadelphia.
  • The Pocono Record looks at the race from the standpoint of institutional reform, pointing out that the commonwealth’s legislature — employing more than 2,800 — is the largest in the nation, and ripe for reform.

Congressional

  • PA-3 — The Washington Post describes this past week as the “worst” for representatives who’ve been handed “pink slips” by their Democrat leaders after being told their DCCC funding would be cut off to focus on more competitive races. Kathy Dahlkemper, of course, was one such blue-dog to be pink-slipped.
  • PA-7 — According to the latest poll, the Pat Meehan-Bryan Lentz contest in Delaware County remains too close for comfort for either candidate. Meehan holds somewhere between a 1-5 point lead, according to different polls.
  • PA-11 — So, remember this morning’s update when we talked about Democrat incumbent Paul Kanjorski’s record fundraising numbers, and his half million in cash on hand? Well, it looks like the Lou Barletta folks were true to their word. They topped Kanjorski by about $10,000 for the third quarter. But that still leaves them $200,000 down in terms of cash on hand.