Help turn PA blue

[DeminPennswoods]

There's a new organization working to turn the PA state legislature blue. They are working district by district - all 253 of 'em. More info at link if you care to volunteer or contribute.

Link: http://turnpablue.org/

[FakeNoose]

1. Thanks I'll reply to this

...even though they seem to be concentrating on the eastern side of the state. Maybe they're already organizing in Philadelphia and surrounding counties.

I'm in Allegheny County (Pittsburgh) and we're already as blue as can be, but the suburbs and surrounding counties have mostly gone red in the last 10 years. Gerrymandering changed everything - but hopefully that's fixed now! What we have going for us is all the anti-Trump fervor, even among people who voted for him in 2016. I think (hope) we have a good shot to turn this state blue by 2020.

[DeminPennswoods]

2. This is for the state house and senate, so

there are Republican held seats in Allegheny, Washington, Beaver, Westmoreland, etc counties.

[FakeNoose]

3. Hopefully fewer people will vote a straight ticket next time

That's how a bunch of the state Republicans get into office. For some reason it doesn't help down-ticket Democrats, but it sure helps the GOP.

[John1956PA]

4. In the 10th PA House of Representative District, the Democrats could not muster a candidate.

The district is 40 miles north of Pittsburgh. For decades, the District was pro-union, working class, and Democratic voting. In 2016, the Republicans undertook an aggressive strategy which cultivated broad support on the grass roots level. The Democratic incumbent who was in office since 2007 was ousted in favor of an outspoken, early-Trump-supporting Republican newcomer who follows Grover Norquist's philosophy of smaller government and lower taxes. This Republican incumbent has several outspoken supporters on social media, and he has a great many other social media followers as well. Of course, this incumbent was uncontested in the May 15 Republican primary. He also won the Democratic primary with over 500 write-in votes, as the Democrats were unable to get candidate named on the ballot. In the district, the Democrats have an edge in registration, but I suspect that some of those registered as Democrats are really Republican operatives. In all, the Republicans have an aggressive plan for holding the seat, and the majority of the voters in the middle-class district have signed on to the phenomenon.

[DeminPennswoods]

5. Aaron Bernstine

This is Mike Veon's old seat. I do not know why Dems can't find a candidate. Jarrett Gibbons was the Dem who was defeated by Bernstine. Gibbons paid no attention to any of the cities (BF, NB, Midland) contained within HD-10 so there was little enthusiasm to come out and vote for him. McGurk was a poor candidate with a couple arrests in his background. It didn't surprise me he lost the write-in vote to Bernstine.

I wish Mike Romigh would run, but he knows because Veon hired him when Romigh was out of work, he'll be smeared by the GOP from that association.

[John1956PA]

6. There was partial realignment after Veon. Most of what was Veon's district is now Jim Marshall's (R)

The major aspect of the realignment is that BF and NB went from Marshall's PA-14 District to Gibbons' (now Bernstine's) PA-10.

Midland remains in PA-14, which since 2007 has been held by Marshall and which was held by Veon before that.

I think that PA-10 is slightly more conservative than PA-14. I am at a loss as to how PA-10 can be turned around in 2020 as Bernstine seems to be solidly ensconced.

In the slightly less conservative PA-10, the Democratic candidate is Amy Fazio who moved to PA less than twenty years ago. I wish her well in her quest to unseat Republican incumbent Jim Marshall.

[DeminPennswoods]

7. HD-10 was drawn to be a Dem friendly district

but you're right that Midland's part of HD-14 that Jim Marshall represents. I'm in that district and I'll be voting for Amy Fazio in November. Fazio lives in Daugherty Twp which in HD-14 although everyone around here considers that to be "New Brighton".

PA-14 is definitely more conservative than PA-10.