Pennsylvania state elections, 2008

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Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (March 2008)

Pennsylvania's state elections will be held on November 4, 2008. Necessary primary elections will be held on April 22.

All 203 seats of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 25 seats of the Pennsylvania Senate, as well as the offices of Pennsylvania Treasurer, Pennsylvania Auditor General, and Pennsylvania Attorney General will be up for election.

Contents 1 Presidential Primary 1.1 Democratic Primary 1.2 Republican Primary 2 Constitutional officers 2.1 Treasurer 2.2 Attorney General 2.3 Auditor General 3 Pennsylvania General Assembly 4 Statewide Ballot Referendums 5 See also 6 External links 7 References

[edit] Presidential Primary

Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion.

[edit] Democratic Primary

Main article: Pennsylvania Democratic primary, 2008

Pennsylvania's Democratic Primary to award the state's 158 pledged delegates will take place on April 22, 2008. Senator Barack Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton are the only 2 democratic candidates on the ballot.^[1]

Most political observers believe Pennsylvania is a "must-win" for Senator Clinton to continue her campaign.^[2]

On April 8, 2008 a Rasmussen poll showed Clinton leading Obama by five percentage points, 48% to 43%.^[3] This shows little change from the April 1 poll, which showed Clinton leading Obama by 47% to 42%.^[4] The poll previous to these two, on March 25, had showed Clinton leading Obama by ten points, 49% to 39%.^[5]The Rasmussen results show that the race seems to have stabilized since the dramatic halving of Clinton's lead between March 25 and April 1.

According to a recent poll from the American Research Group, made public on April 6, 2008, Clinton and Obama were tied at 45% each in Pennsylvania.^[6]

On March 11, 2008 Bill Clinton headlined a rally at Washington & Jefferson College, 30 miles south of Pittsburgh.^[7][8][9]

[edit] Republican Primary

Main article: Pennsylvania Republican primary, 2008

[edit] Constitutional officers

[edit] Treasurer

Current Pennsylvania Treasurer Robin Wiessmann was appointed to fill Bob Casey Jr.'s term when he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006. Wiessman's appointment included the condition that she would not run for election in this cycle.^[10]

John F. Cordisco of New Hope, Robert McCord of Lower Merion, Dennis Morrison-Wesley of Harrisburg, and Jennifer Mann of Allentown will seek the Democratic nomination for Treasurer.^[11] The Pennsylvania Democratic Committee did not endorse a candidate for treasurer, as none of the four candidates reached the required two-thirds majority in a vote in January.^[12] In March, Morrison-Wesley and Mann survived challenges from McCord's campaign as to whether their nominating petitions were valid.^[13]

Cordisco served as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1981 to 1986.^[14] After his term in the PA House, Cordisco co-founded Cordisco Bradway, a personal injury law firm, where he continues to practice;^[15] he is also the current Chairman of the Bucks County Democratic Committee.^[16]

McCord has no prior record in elected office, but worked at the beginning of his career on Capitol Hill, specializing in "budget and regulatory issues."^[17] McCord worked more recently as a financial advisor and venture capitalist; his website claims that, during his career, he managed $1 billion in assets and has indirectly worked to create more than 1,900 jobs in Pennsylvania.^[18] McCord, who holds degrees from Harvard University and the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania,^[19] led the race in a poll conducted in January.^[20]

Morrison-Wesley does not have prior political experience, but has worked in the financial services industry for nineteen years, including work for the IRS and for the securities firm Merrill Lynch.^[21][22]

Mann has served for the past ten years in the 132^nd Legislative District of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.^[23]

Tom Ellis of Cheltenham is unopposed for the Republican nomination.^[24] Ellis, an attorney, is partner in the Public Finance Department of the firm Ballard Spahr Andrews and Ingersoll, LLP; he has also served on the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners and the Cheltenham Township Board of Commissioners.^[25]

Henry M. Hershey of Hershey, Pennsylvania is running for the Republican nomination as a write-in candidate.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Attorney General

Incumbent Republican Tom Corbett of Shaler and Democrat John M. Morganelli of Bethlehem and are unopposed for their parties' nominations for state Attorney General.^[26] In 2004, Morganelli lost the Democratic primary to Jim Eisenhower, who lost to Corbett in general election.^[27] Morganelli is currently the District Attorney of Northampton County, where he has shown a strong opposition to illegal immigration; he has testified on this issue before the United States House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Claims.^[28]

[edit] Auditor General

Incumbent Democrat Jack Wagner of Pittsburgh is unopposed for the Democratic nomination for Auditor General. Republican Chet Beiler of Penn Township is now unopposed for the Republican nomination, after primary opponent Chris Walsh withdrew from the race, citing problems with his nomination petitions.^[29]

Jack Wagner defeated Joe Peters in the 2004 election.^[30]

[edit] Pennsylvania General Assembly

See: Pennsylvania General Assembly elections, 2008.

[edit] Statewide Ballot Referendums

[edit] See also

• United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania, 2008

[edit] External links

[edit] References

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