Pennsylvania Leads the Way to US House Takeover by GOP - BIPAC

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Page 2 Republican Attorney General Tom Corbett defeated Democrat Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato to become the 46 th Governor of Pennsylvania, by a margin of about 350,000 votes, or 54.5 percent to 45.5 percent. It was never that close. Tom Corbett polled better than Onorato for a year. Tom Corbett raised more money than Dan Onorato. And, Tom Corbett had a national pro-Republican tidal wave behind him. Corbett‘s campaign was run by Brian Nutt who also managed the 2004 and 2008 elections to Attorney General. Communications and media were led by consultant John Brabender from the Pittsburgh firm of BrabenderCox. Co-Chairs John Barbour (Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney), Alan Walker (Bradford Energy), and Bob Asher (Asher Chocolates) fanned the states raising money and generating grassroots support. Finance Director Nan McLaughlin coordinated the massive fundraising effort. Jennifer Branstetter was masterful as the Policy Director, bringing together hundreds of stakeholders and issue experts to put together reams of policy briefing materials and outlines for Corbett Administration policy positions and plans. Tom Corbett‘s climb to Pennsylvania‘s top elected post might be traced to his public service as criminal prosecutor; or his service in the Pennsylvania National Guard, or even earlier to his time as a public school social studies teacher. In 1995, Governor Tom Ridge appointed Corbett to fill the unexpired term of Ernie Preate who had pled guilty to a charge of mail fraud. Corbett fulfilled the term well, but had promised not to seek election to a full term in the office when it became vacant in 1996. State Senator D. Michael Fisher was elected to two successive terms as Attorney General and Corbett returned to the private sector. In 2004, however, Tom Corbett saw his chance and took it. He defeated Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor in a blistering and sometimes ugly Primary Election and then defeated Democrat Jim Eisenhower by nearly 118,000 votes on a 50.45 percent to 48.25 percent margin. These results were almost the exact opposite of the margins by which John Kerry surpassed George W. Bush in Pennsylvania‘s presidential polling. It was a strong showing for Corbett and one that immediately started people talking about his potential political future. Flash forward to 2008 and Attorney General Tom Corbett had to run for re-election with Barack Obama leading the Democrat ticket. Obama took 3,196,820 or 54.6 percent of the votes cast for President in Pennsylvania in 2008. Corbett defeated Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli with 2,939,707 votes or 52.4 percent of the votes cast. Even more impressive was the election map. Corbett won 61 of Pennsylvania‘s 67 counties losing only Philadelphia, Delaware, Montgomery, Lehigh, Northampton, and Monroe. The Lehigh Valley naturally voted for its Majority Votes for Governor by County 2010 hometown prosecutor. Monroe County – which has had a tremendous influx of new residents from New York City and northern New Jersey in recent years – voted very heavily Democratic across the board in 2008. Corbett‘s losses in Montgomery and Delaware County were marginal. Republican Party leaders were impressed – here was a candidate who could run and win statewide against a new Democrat majority. Corbett‘s biggest hurdle was within the GOP. Former US Attorney and Delaware County DA Pat Meehan considered the Governor‘s race before opting to run for the 7 th Congressional seat. Congressman Jim Gerlach explored the campaign in earnest and garnered a good deal of interest as a moderate Republican already known and successful in Southeast Pennsylvania. Corbett‘s greatest challenge came from the conservative side of the Republican Party and state Representative Sam Rohrer. The Berks County lawmaker who has long advocated for greater fiscal accountability and the reduction and ultimate elimination of real estate property taxes used a strong new media and net roots campaign to attack Corbett and shape the debate. In the end, Corbett defeated Rohrer by a comfortable 70 percent to 30 percent margin, but not before Rohrer extracted a pledge from Corbett that became the cornerstone of the fall campaign and what some observers fear could become the millstone of the Corbett Administration: a promise to veto any attempt to increase taxes or fees on Pennsylvanians. Pennsylvania Political Report
Page 3 More than 2 million Pennsylvanians voted for former US Representative Pat Toomey on Election Day 2010 — enough to make him Pennsylvania‘s newest US Senator. Toomey defeated Congressman Joe Sestak by about 77,000 votes for a 51 percent to 49 percent win. The race was, at times, jarring with strong barbs thrown not just by the candidates but also by scores of special interests groups who used their newly authorized Independent Expenditure resources to craft and deliver their own messages. Polls in the closing weeks of the campaign showed the election to be close. Independent voters, however, broke to Republican candidates up and down the ticket helping to give Toomey the win. Toomey carried 60 of Pennsylvania‘s 67 counties. Sestak won only , Allegheny, Delaware, Erie, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties. (See map.) Pat Toomey was born and raised in Providence, Rhode Island as the third of six children in an Irish Catholic household. Toomey‘s father, Patrick, was a tough, disciplined, Marine Corps veteran who worked for Narragansett Electric on an underground line crew. The senior Patrick was a lifelong Democrat who never voted for a Republican candidate. Toomey‘s mother, Mary Ann, worked as a parish secretary at St. Martha's Catholic Church. Toomey won a scholarship to the private, Catholic, all-male (until 1983) prep school La Salle Academy. Toomey parlayed that education into admission at Harvard University where he says he was surprised by the anti- Reagan feelings of his fellow students. It was then that Toomey became interested in conservative ideals and Republican politics. Pat Toomey left Harvard in 1984 with a degree in political science, but a taste for business and finance. He was hired by Chemical Bank and put to work making currency swaps. In 1986, Toomey joined Morgan, Grenfell & Co. and expanded his financial skills into currency and interest raterelated derivatives. Toomey moved to Hong Kong for a year to help two wealthy Chinese brothers establish a banking business. As Toomey‘s financial career was winding down, he moved to Allentown to join younger brothers Steve and Michael in opening a restaurant and sports bar called Rookie’s. They chose the city on the basis of demographics — they liked the ―over 30 market.‖ Steve had successfully managed clubs for that demographic in Massachusetts. Pat, however, soon took an interest in local politics and was elected to the Allentown Home Rule Charter study commission in 1994. Toomey contributed to the draft charter the requirement for a ―super-majority‖ vote of the city council in order to raise taxes. Pat Toomey — the fiscal conservative and tax fighter — was born. The timing coincided with Newt Gingrich‘s ―Contract with America‖ and the Clinton mid-term election. Four years later, in 1998, Democrat Congressman Paul McHale decided not to seek re-election after calling on President Bill Clinton to resign and voting for articles of impeachment. Pat Toomey sought and won the Republican nomination and went on to defeat state Senator Roy C. Afflerbach in the General Election. Toomey easily defeated Edward O‘Brien for re-election in 2000 and again in 2002. In 2004, Toomey honored his pledge to limit himself to just three terms. Instead, Toomey challenged four-term incumbent Arlen Specter in the Republican Primary. Toomey narrowly lost to Senator Specter by just over 17,000 votes. In the end, however, Toomey supported the election of Specter over Democrat Joe Hoeffel. Pat Toomey‘s battle against RINOs— ―Republicans in Name Only‖ did not end with the 2004 Republican Primary. Soon thereafter, Toomey assumed the presidency of the Club for Growth — a fiscally conservative 527 organization with an affiliated PAC that advocates limited government, lower taxes, less government spending, free trade, and economic libertarianism. Faced with the prospect of another battle against Toomey , Specter in 2009 switched parties and joined the Democrats. This let the pathway open for Pat Toomey to win the Republican nomination in a 82 percent to 18 percent win over conservative activist Peg Luksik. The big news of the night, however, was Specter‘s defeat at the hands of two-term Congressman and retired Admiral Joe Sestak. Some observers wondered if Toomey would prove too conservative for Pennsylvania voters — especially those in the Philadelphia suburbs. Apparently not. Majority Votes for US Senate by County 2010 Pennsylvania Political Report
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Page 7 and 8: New Lawmakers Page 7 Margo Davidson
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Pennsylvania Leads the Way to US House Takeover by GOP - BIPAC

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