Did I hook you with the title? There is video, and there is a sex scandal. Scandaliscious details on the flip . . . It's getting close now to Pennsylvania's primary on Tuesday, and I probably won't be able to write about my congressional race again before that. You see, I shun the computer on weekends, and I'll be doing my part to GOTV for Obama for these last few days anyway.
I thought I would do a prediction diary, but how can I guess what will happen in the 9-man GOP clusterfuck for this nomination? And our chances at flipping this district in November could be greatly improved depending on which poor choice as little as 12% of the district Republicans finally settle on. At this point, the 3 frontrunners all have some sort of scandal in their backgrounds, and the other 6 have no money. The fractious Republican primary seriously couldn't have gone any better for us. Retiring Rep. John Peterson must be kicking himself for endorsing so late in the game. He really could have prevented all this infighting. But he didn't, so . .
Yesterday's big news was that front-runner Derek Walker was charged with 2 felonies and 4 misdemeanors stemming from an incident with an ex-girlfriend back in August. He allegedly entered her house unauthorized and then took "intimate" video of her and her male companion.
The timing of the charges is understandably suspicious. Accusations are flying. For his part, Walker denies the charges and blames "politics," particularly Shaner for the timing of the charges. Anonymous letters about the incident had been circulated to news outlets for months, and Walker says Shaner was behind them. No comment from Shaner. Walker also released a statement from the ex-girlfriend, who mostly denied the incident.
Here are the Centre Daily Times final profiles on the Republican candidates and my final thoughts on each of them (more about them in my wingnut scale diaries, part 1 and part 2) :
The big money boys with ads galore:
Walker eyes area’s natural resources: Gee whiz, a coal heir eyes natural resources? Walker is just an environmental nightmare and possibly worse than Peterson in this regard. Before yesterday, I feared he would win the nomination. Thank goodness for sex scandals!
Stroehmann highlights rural jobs- Stroehmann was supposedly polling in 3rd place before the Walker thing hit. But, the skeleton in his closet is:
Stroehmann has been dogged in the campaign by an October 2006 divorce case ruling by Lycoming County Court Judge William Kieser that said Stroehmann concealed his actual wealth in making his wife sign a prenuptial agreement on their wedding day.
Classy.
Shaner brings youth, cash to campaign- Amusing title, because that's all this Santorum/Toomey protege brings. The article rehashes the "incident" that has been plaguing Shaner since that fateful night. Now Walker is using the episode in ads against Shaner.
The rest of the Republican field:
Krupa looks to reflect his constituents- Krupa comes off better in this article than he does on his website (which helped to earn him a winning 9 wingnuts on my wingnut scale.)
Exarchos has decades of public service- He would be the least objectionable of the Republicans. Too bad he hurt too many Republican feelings in 2007 with his write-in bid.
Radkowski takes pulse of the voters: I find him to be the second least objectionable of the Republicans.
Richardson looks beyond evangelicals- Richardson drops hints in this profile that Peterson was looking for assurances that the guy he endorsed would use "bold" lines of criticism against the 3 wealthy candidates in the race. Richardson refused and so, according to him, he didn't get the endorsement. If voters are too fed up with all this scandal and mud-slinging, maybe Richardson can emerge as the family-values guy. He worries me.
Stroup runs low-key campaign: I think Stroup and Richardson, both from Clarion, are probably cutting into each other's share of the large western portion of the district. Stroup is no friend to the environment either. It was a bit of a surprise that Peterson did not endorse Stroup. Could it be that negative campaigning thing?
Thompson gets lift from Peterson: Thompson comes off worse in this profile than he does on his website. Thompson is rumored to be a bit of a dunce. But Peterson is pushing hard for him now. I don't know if it will be too little, too late.
What about the Democrats?: Yes, we have 3 good candidates in the distirct - it's amazing. I've compared them in depth on Iraq, the economy, and healthcare. Here are the their final CDT profiles:
Cahir stresses connections to county- Cahir has raised the most money, and of course, being an Iraq War vet can't hurt (the only vet in the race). But he is trying to combat the "carpetbagger" charge.
McCracken relies upon local backers- McCracken is a genuinely likeable guy and the only one who has publicly announced which Presidential candidate he supports (Obama!). He even canvassed for Obama last weekend!
Vilello offers knowledge of district issues: Mayor Rick certainly has the strongest "out of Iraq now" stance of the three, which is brave in this district. A solid liberal in a conservative area.
Here's to the worst GOP candidate and the best Dem candidate winning on Tuesday! Here's to the possibility of a Blue Fifth District!