PoliticsPA: John Rafferty will throw his hat in the ring for PA Attorney General, the Montgomery County State Senator confirmed to PoliticsPA this afternoon.

“I most definitely will, yes,” he said.

Rafferty’s name has been in the discussion for several months, and he recently sent a letter to Republican State Committee members indicating his interest in running.

He won’t face a question of experience: Rafferty served as Deputy Attorney General from 1988 to 1991. In the PA Senate, he has built a reputation as a good legislator respected on both sides of the aisle. He chairs the Transportation Committee and serves on Appropriations, Judiciary, Law & Justice, Banking and Insurance and Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure. Read more »

PoliticsPA: Colonel John Vernon officially announced his candidacy for the 2012 U.S. Senate election this morning at Liberties Restaurant & Bar, a historic Philadelphia establishment.  It was a fitting place for Vernon, a former Colonel, to kick off his official campaign announcement.

PoliticsPA got to sit down with Colonel Vernon and his wife, Diana as they had breakfast at a nearby restaurant just before his speech. They were both clearly excited about their Announcement Plan scheduled for today and tomorrow which includes six locations around the Commonwealth: Philadelphia, Carlisle, Williamsport, Wellsboro, Erie and Murrysville.

Vernon reported that he is very pleased with the progress of his campaign. He described his campaign as “organized and decisive.”

Overall his sentiment was optimistic and hopeful.

“We see solutions, not issues. We see opportunities.”

After serving in the military for over 30 years, this is Vernon’s first go at a political career. He has virtually no name recognition and his financial base remains unclear and many of his staffers have little campaign experience. Read more »

National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Pete Sessions (R-TX) released the following statement regarding Republican Bob Turner’s victory in the special election in New York’s 9th Congressional District:

“This clear rebuke of President Obama’s policies delivers a blow to Democrats’ goal of making Nancy Pelosi the Speaker again. New Yorkers put Washington Democrats on notice that voters are losing confidence in a President whose policies assault job-creators and affront Israel. An unpopular President Obama is now a liability for Democrats nationwide in a 2012 election that is a referendum on his economic policies.

“I congratulate Bob Turner on his election victory based on a strong campaign of listening to voters and standing up for job creation, economic opportunity, and one of America’s strongest allies, Israel. Bob Turner understands what it takes to create jobs, and I am confident that New Yorkers will value his work in Congress for free enterprise and liberty at home and abroad.”

Join the Pike County Republican Committee and the Pike County Council of Republican Women as they co-host the

2011 Annual Fall Dinner

The Inn at Hunt’s Landing
Matamoras, Pennsylvania

with

Senator Pat Toomey

and

Congressman Thomas Marino

Friday, September 30, 2011

Reception: 6:00pm
Dinner: 7:00pm

Advanced Tickets: $30.00
At the Door: $40.00

Please make checks payable to the Pike County Republican Committee.

Mail to:
Dorothy Dexter, Dinner Chair
126 Tanager Road
Lackawaxen, PA 18435

Also include choice of entree: Roasted Top Round of Beef or Bourbon Glazed Salmon.

Please e-mail info@PikeRepublican.com with any questions.

Post-Gazette: A new proposal is pushing the often-forgotten Electoral College into the spotlight as Pennsylvania officials ponder the state’s role in next year’s presidential race.

Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi is trying to gather support to change the state’s “winner-takes-all” approach for awarding electoral votes. Instead, he’s suggesting that Pennsylvania dole them out based on which candidate wins each of the 18 congressional districts, with the final two going to the contender with the most votes statewide.

So far, the idea has received support from colleagues of the Delaware County Republican in the state House and from Republican Gov. Tom Corbett. But Democrats, who have carried the state in presidential contests since 1992, said the shift would erode Pennsylvania’s clout. Read more »

You can meet Steve Welch at the PCRC’s 2011 Annual Fall Dinner on September 30th at Hunt’s Landing.

PoliticsPA: Chester County businessman and former congressional candidate Steven Welch will enter the race for U.S. Senate.

Consultant John Brabender, who is advising Welch, confirmed his candidacy this afternoon.

“Steve has made the decision to move forward with a race for the United States Senate, and he is aggressively working the critical steps to put a first-rate campaign team together,” he said.

Welch declined to comment, but confirmed Brabender’s statement.

Welch, 35, has spent his career to date in business development. He sold his start-up company Mitos Group to Parker Hannifin in 2007. Shortly after, he co-founded DreamIt Ventures, a company that assists developing businesses.

He fits the bill of a non-traditional candidate than many Republican insiders were seeking against Senator Bob Casey, who has spent the large majority of his career in elected office. Read more »

PoliticsPA: Tom Smith is calling a Republican near you.

It’s little surprise that the Senate hopeful is dialing up the people who fueled Senator Pat Toomey’s successful run last year.

It started with Smith’s hire of former Toomey Campaign Manager Mark Harris. Now the coal industry veteran and Tea Party leader has begun the task of reaching out to the state’s myriad grassroots activists and campaign contributors, Toomey’s among them.

Scott Wagner is president of York-based Penn Waste Inc. He’s supported a number of Republican campaigns in recent years including Mike Smeltzer, the conservative who challenged Rep. Todd Platts last year. He met with Smith last week, and is leaning strongly his way. Read more »

The Reporter: A federal judge in Pennsylvania has ruled that the requirement in President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul that individuals buy health insurance is unconstitutional.

Judge Christopher Conner in Harrisburg issued the ruling Tuesday in one of more than 30 lawsuits nationwide that have been filed over the law. He says the individual mandate is an unconstitutional extension of authority granted to the federal government under the Constitution’s commerce clause. Read more »