Democrats hope Rendell can help carry other elections
HARRISBURG – Can you say Speaker of the House H. William DeWeese? How about House Majority Leader Mike Veon? Some Democrats are already imaging the new titles.
That’s because they believe gubernatorial candidate Ed Rendell’s popularity in southeastern Pennsylvania will trickle down to the area’s Democratic candidates who are running for state House seats in November’s election.
Riding on Rendell’s coattails, party leaders believe they can win as many as three additional state House seats in Bucks County and four in Northeast Philadelphia. Winning most of those seats would allow the Democrats to gain control of the state House of Representatives for the first time since 1994. Currently, the GOP holds a 104 to 98 advantage in the House, with one seat is vacant.
“I can assure you, the Republicans are buying a lot of Rolaids up in that part of town because Rendell is going to give them massive heartburn,” said House Minority Leader DeWeese, D-Waynesburg. “Rendell’s momentum and charisma campaigning in the suburbs could take a campaign that was comparatively secondary or remote on our radar screen and bounce it up to A number 1.”
“With Ed Rendell at the top of the ticket, House Democrats have the political will and now the political ammunition to win the seats that will get us the majority in the House,” said House Minority Whip Veon, D-Beaver County.
In last Tuesday’s primary election, Rendell beat his opponent, state Auditor General Robert P. Casey Jr., by a 56 to 44 percent vote. The former Philadelphia mayor was propelled to victory by his overwhelming success in the city and its surrounding counties. He garnered about 80 percent of the vote in the area. Rendell will face state Attorney General Mike Fisher, a Republican, in the general election.
With Rendell on November’s ballot, as many as 26 House races could come into play in southeastern Pennsylvania. Specifically, Democratic leaders are eyeing four seats in Northeast Philadelphia that are currently held by Republican lawmakers and three seats in Bucks County.
Rep. Roy Reinard, R-178, is retiring from office at the end of this term, and Democrats believe their candidate Carl Cherkin stands a good chance of winning the seat that represents Northampton. Democrats also believe that their candidate in the 18th District, Scott Blacker, could knock of incumbent Gene DiGirolamo, a Republican lawmaker who represents Bensalem.
And then there’s a new seat in Bucks County – the 29th District – that was created as a result of redistricting last year and will represent parts of Buckingham, Solebury, Upper Southampton, Warwick and New Hope. Democrat presidential candidate Al Gore won a majority of votes in that area in 2000, which makes state Democrat leaders confident about their chances in a state House race.
Strong voter support for Rendell should translate into more votes for local Democrats in the fall, Democratic leaders say. Rendell will be out campaigning for local candidates, urging voters to elect fellow Democrats so they can help him pass his agenda if he’s elected governor. Party leaders are also counting on him to help out with fundraising efforts.
“We’ll be doing everything we can, not only to win our election but to help other people who share our agenda,” said Rendell spokesman Dan Fee. “We will be focused on getting out the Democratic vote.”
“I think this is sensational because it will help us immeasurably in the fall,” said John Murray, chairman of the Bucks County Democratic committee. “He will draw out votes in our area that will help our undercard of candidates greatly.”
Some Republican candidates admit the Rendell factor puts them at a disadvantage. But they remain confident, nonetheless.
“I think it’s always a concern who’s at the top of the ticket,” said DiGirolamo. “But I’ll just go back to six years ago, the last time Bill Clinton ran. He was at top of ticket here. Clinton did really well in this part of state, but I still won by 2-1 ratio. People come out and split the ticket because they recognize that I work extremely hard for them.”
This isn’t the first time Democrats have been excited about their chances of reclaiming the House. Going into the 2000 election, Republicans held a 102-101 edge. The Democrats pumped millions of dollars into campaign efforts, but ended up losing ground.
Political analyst G. Terry Madonna is skeptical about the Democrats chances at reclaiming the House this election.
“I think they have an outside chance at it,” said Madonna, director of the Center for Politics and Public Affairs at Millersville University. “There’s really only one or two seats down there in play. The incumbents are pretty well insulated themselves. Usually only two lose [statewide] in an election. If [Democrats] win a Bucks seat, and if Republicans lose one in Northeast Philly, that’s still not enough.”