PA Bill Number: HB1472
Title: In primary and election expenses, further providing for reporting by candidate and political committees and other persons and for late contributions ...
Description: In primary and election expenses, further providing for reporting by candidate and political committees and other persons and for late contrib ...
Last Action: Referred to STATE GOVERNMENT
Last Action Date: Apr 22, 2024
Joe Kennedy campaigns quietly for Conor Lamb :: 02/02/2018
The race to replace Rep. Tim Murphy in Washington is in the national spotlight, with big money and big names weighing in — but the two candidates appear to be managing the star power available to them quite differently.
Republican Rick Saccone stood at the door Friday morning in Bethel Park greeting all who lined up to watch Vice President Mike Pence rally support, and his campaign announced that President Donald Trump will return again to try to ensure Mr. Saccone wins.
In contrast, Democrat Conor Lamb — just the night before — kept his campaign’s visit from Rep. Joe Kennedy III, who delivered the Democratic rebuttal to President Trump’s State of the Union address, on the down-low.
There was no notice to the media of the visit, and the media who asked were told there were no press events planned.
Rep. Kennedy slipped into Western Pennsylvania and back out with no fanfare, but a tweet from the candidate himself.
That left some in the media perplexed.
Scott Detrow, NPR’s congressional reporter, tweeted his befuddlement with the campaign’s tactics.
Conor Lamb’s campaign manager Abby Murphy responded to a Post-Gazette question about it: “We don't rely on other politicians to generate excitement for Conor's campaign or attack his opponent.”
Mr. Saccone’s Republican supporters at the national level have assiduously attempted to connect Mr. Lamb with national Democrats widely loathed by the GOP base, most notably former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. This despite the fact Mr. Lamb has said he thinks someone other than Ms. Pelosi should lead House Democrats.
Republicans are eager to make this election a national referendum. Mr. Pence told the crowd of Republicans on Friday, "Conor Lamb is going to be just another rubber stamp for liberal Democrats in Washington, D.C."
Democrats meanwhile appear happy — thus far at least — to keep the election as local as possible, with national party leaders slipping in and back out with little more than a tweet as public evidence of the visit.
"We're grateful that Congressman Kennedy came here to support Conor Lamb, and that seniors and campaign volunteers had a chance to meet and spend time with another new leader who wants Congress to get things done,” said Ms. Murphy. “There is an increasingly enthusiastic response throughout the district to Conor's message, and we'll let Rick Saccone's voting record speak for itself."
