Tom Manion

Continuing its attempt to catch up with U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's (D-NY) considerable ground operation in Pennsylvania, the campaign of U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) will open an office in Bucks County Wednesday evening.

The office, in Warminster, will officially open at 6 p.m. Republican Tom Manion, who is running against U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Bristol) in the 8th Congressional District, will speak on McCain's behalf, Manion's campaign said today.

Of the critical counties in the Philadelphia suburbs, Bucks County, with large swaths of blue-collar voters, is one that analysts give McCain the best chance of winning. 

Jay Russell was hoping to run for Congress against U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Bristol) and Republican Tom Manion.

But Constitution Candidate hopeful dropped his election bid this week before a hearing was set for a challenge to his candidacy, The Bucks County Courier Times reports.

Tom Lingenfelter, a Doylestown political activist running as an Independent in the 8th Congressional District race, had claimed in court papers that more than 2,500 of the signatures collected for Russell's nominating petitions were invalid.

As a member of Congress, U.S. Rep. Patrick Muphy (D-Bristol) has an automatic ticket to Denver this month as a superdelegate to the Democratic Convetion. He even has been given a special speaking role, with the freshman incumbent and Iraq war veteran expected to give a tribute to veterans the night before U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) accepts the party's nomination for president.

But in an unusual campaign tactic, his opponent in the 8th Congressional District, Tom Manion, says Murphy should be staying home to deal with problems in the district, The Bucks County Courier Times reports.

"Instead of being out there giving speeches on the convention floor, he ought to be back here and working to figure out what we can do with the energy crisis we have,” Manion said.

Manion is not attending the GOP convention next month, but he is not a voting delegate to the convention like Murphy. 

U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter has some words of advice for U.S. Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain as they campaign for the White House:

"They'd be well advised if they didn't promise too much."

That's what Specter, the longtime moderate Pennsylvania Republican, said in a wide-ranging interview with the editorial boards of The Bucks County Courier Times and The Intelligencer. He had plenty more to say about both candidates' chances in the state, and also offered his thoughts on Bucks Couny's 8th Congressional District race and his own next election run.

With NBC's Chris Matthews rumored to be considering a run against Specter as a Democrat in 2010, the incumbent said he wasn't concerned.

 "Like Satchel Paige said, "I don't look too far behind me because they might be gaining.'" Specter said. "The right wing doesn't like me, so I'm sure I'll have an opponent each way."

Despite loads of talk about competitive Congressional races in the Philadelphia suburbs, there are growing indications that the real races to watch are elsewhere in the state. Independent political reports have increasingly spotlighted the 3rd, 10th and 11th Congressional Districts as the most competitive, and G. Terry Madonna, a pollster and political science professor at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster said that's where his polling resources are likely to be concentrated.

Madonna told PolitickerPA.com that Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta's challenge to U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-Nanticoke) in the 11th district, as well as Kathy Kahlkemper's challenge to U.S. Rep. Phil English in the 3rd district and Chris Hackett campaign against U.S. Rep Chris Carney (D-Dimock) in the 10th district, will be the most competitive.

He did question recent reports that Kanjorski's race against Barletta is close to a toss-up, saying that while the race would be competitive, Kanjorski's long-held ties in the district would see him through the race.

Madonna downplayed assertions that Republicans Craig Williams and Tom Manion are likely to unseat U.S. Reps. Joe Sestak (D-Egdmont) and Patrick Murphy (D-Bristol). Not that those districts will go unwatched, as they are likely to be key swing areas in the state's presidentail race.

Madonna said he will likely poll in the 3rd, 10th and 11th district races instead of the ones in the Philadelphia suburbs.

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D-Scranton) held a Wednesday morning fundraiser for U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Bristol), who is fresh off a strong second fundraising quarter.

Matt Binns, a Murphy spokesman, confirmed this morning’s event at the National Democratic Club in Washington. The campaign did not provide any further details on the event.

Murphy is quickly emerging as something of a fundraising behemoth in his freshman class. As PolitickerPA.com’s Dan Hirschhorn reported Tuesday, the Democrat raised $750,000 between the beginning of April and the end of June, bringing his cash-on-hand total to over $2 million.

Murphy’s Republican opponent, pharmaceutical executive Tom Manion, reported raising $241,000 during the second quarter and having about $500,000 in the bank.

U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Bristol) has almost $1 million in cash on hand for his re-election campaign after raising more than $750,000 in the second quarter, according to campaign finance reports published today.

Murphy's healthy fundraising clip comes as Republicans are targeting his 8th Congressional District, where he faces Republican Tom Manion.

Manion raised $241,000 of his own in the second quarter and has almost half a million dollars on hand himself.

Kathy Dahlkemper found out this week her race was being changed from likely Republican to lean Republican. Find out who joins Dahlkemper as a winner this week.

Is a personal family tragedy relevant to a run for political office? View the first part of Tom Manion's "Letters from Travis" below and judge for yourself:

The second quarter is over and now we wait for the FEC numbers to be released.  But what should we expect?

In the 3rd district Phil English is facing off against challenger Kathy Dahlkemper.  In April English was showing $690k cash on had after raising $282k in the first quarter.   Dalhkemper raised $58k during the same period and had $71k on hand.  This is the make or break quarter for Dahlkemper.  She has been named as a candidate to watch on the DCCC Red-to-Blue program, but another $58k quarter will not get the job done.  For Dahlkemper to be taken seriously by the DCCC she will need to post a number that puts her with at least $250k cash on hand.