PA-10

U.S. Rep. Chris Carney (D-Dimock) has a roughly $250,000 cash-on-hand advantage over Republican challenger Chris Hackett, according to 3rd quarter fundraising reports filed Wednesday with the Federal Election Commission.

The first-term incumbent raised $381,151 between July 1 and Sept. 30, compared to Hackett's $351,561. The quarter's fundraising gives Carney $584,198 cash on hand, compared to Hackett's $330,673.

But the Republican challenger has been able to spend more than Carney because of the $990,000, including $250,000 this quarter, he has loaned his campaign. Hackett's campaign has spent $1,874,783 thus far, compared to $1,539,313 from Carney.

The Scranton Times-Tribune has a full recap of GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin's Tuesday visit to Scranton, where the Alaskan governor espoused all of her party's familiar themes and criticisms of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.

John McCain plans to eliminate the federal deficit while jump-starting the economy, the paper reported Palin said..

"America is deep in debt and he (Barack Obama) will get us in deeper," she said. "America cannot afford another big spender in the White House."

Chris Hackett, a GOP challenger to U.S. Rep. Chris Carney (D-Dimock) in the 10th Congressional District, addressed the crowd before Palin's arrival. The Times-Tribune reported in response to Hackett mentioning Obama's name, one man in the crowd yelled "kill him." The paper reported that was the only such incident at the event.

U.S. Rep. Chris Carney (D-Dimock) has a 14-point edge over Republican opponent Chris Hackett, according to a poll released Thursday by Franklin & Marshall College.

He leads 39 percent to 25 percent among registered voters, the poll finds, and 48 percent to 33 percent when leaning but undecided voters are included. Eighteen percent of voters are "completely undecided," the poll reports. 

It's a good sign for the first-time incumbent Carney as he tries to fend off Hackett in the normally Republican 10th Congressional District. The race is considered one of the country's most competitive.

The poll indicated undecided voters could likely decide the election. Two-in-five Republicans are undecided, it found, and only 43 percent of GOP members said they supported Hackett. For independents, 52 percent reported they are still undecided.

The poll sampled 713 registered voters from Sept. 30 to Oct. 5 and has a margin of error of 3.6 percent.

Republican congressional candidate Chris Hackett told PolitickerPA.com Thursday that he still opposes Congress' $700 billion financial bailout plan even after the U.S. Senate moved to make the bill more attractive to GOP lawmakers.

"The new bailout bill is in some ways worse than the first one," Hackett said in a statement. "They added a bunch of special interest spending to entice more politicians to support it. But the bottom line is this still puts taxpayers at massive risk and doesn't fix the underlying cause of the crisis."

Hackett faces U.S. Rep. Chris Carney (D-Dimok) this fall in a race considered one of the country's most competitive. Carney voted against the bailout bill on Monday.

Hackett's campaign was the first contacted by PolitickerPA.com that definitively said whether or not the candidate supported the new bill. Other campaigns said they needed more time to review the bill, which has gone from a three-page document to one several hundred pages long.

For months we have been writing about how Chris Carney is only agreeing to one debate with his challenger Chris Hackett in PA-10. He is not the only one looking for ways to avoid debates with a challenger. Republican Bill Shuster (PA-9) is backing out of an October 12th debate with Tony Barr. According to reports Shuster says he may need to be dealing with the financial crisis and may be busy. On October 12th?

WASHINGTON – Two months after announcing its advertising plans for more than 50 districts across the country, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is making public its plans for defending an additional two incumbents in hotly contested races in Pennsylvania.

The DCCC tells PolitickerPA.com it will spend a total of $2.2 million combined this year to defend U.S. Reps. Chris Carney and Paul Kanjorski. Carney, a freshman, is facing a battle against Republican Chris Hackett, a staffing company executive. Kanjorski, a 12 term incumbent, is running against Republican Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta.

The committee has begun airing advertisements in both districts. To date, the DCCC has aired $220,000 worth of advertisements on behalf of Kanjorski and $7,000 in support of Carney. The DCCC went on the air with its first ad in support of Carney over the weekend.

MINNETONKA, Minn. -- The drastic reduction in Monday's activities at the Republican National Convention probably means congressional candidate Chris Hackett will not have a chance to speak to the national delegation as planned.

Hurricane Gustav has eliminated everything but official activity at day one of the RNC, when Hackett was supposed to speak.

When asked whether Hackett might speak later in the week, state party spokesman Michael Barley responded, "probably not."

The congressional candidate faces U.S. Rep. Chris Carney (D-Dimock) this fall in the 10th Congressional District, a race many have pegged as one of the most competitive in the country.

Although Hackett will not speak Monday, he did attend the Pennsylvania delegation's breakfast at the Southwest Marriot in Minnetonka, Minn.

Dan Meuser, who lost to PA-10 Republican nominee Chris Hackett in a close and bitter primary, has come out strong for Hackett.  For months Meuser has been timid in his support, but now has thrown his support behind Hackett.  A poll was released yesterday showing Hackett trailing freshman Congressman Chris Carney by a narrow margin. One PA-10 veteran operative told Inside Edge Meuser had to come out with a strong show of support if he wanted a future in the party as he could not be seen as the reason Hackett lost a close race.

PA-10 Republican candidate Chris Hackett and his wife Ramah began a bicycle tour across the district yesterday that is scheduled to last all week.  The tour will cover 20 stops in thirteen counties and will give Hackett an opportunity to spread his message throughout the district with an earned media opportunity. 

"With the recent energy crunch and Congress' failure to do anything about it, the time has come for a new direction in Washington. As I travel across the district, we will be talking to voters about the issues they care about: gas prices, taxes, and wasteful government spending," said Hackett.

U.S. Rep. Chris Carney (D-Dimock) and Republican challenger Chris Hackett will debate only once before the election, according to The Times-Leader.

The paper reported Carney's campaign, after reviewing its options, determined one debate, simulcast on local TV and across the state on the Pennsylvania Cable Network, would "suffice."

The decision drew a critical response from Hackett's campaign, which had asked for five debates.

"Chris Carney obviously thinks he's a Washington big shot now," Hackett Campaign Manager Mark Harris told the paper. "First he abandoned his promise to represent Pennsylvania valued by voting with Nancy Pelosi and the liberals 90 percent of the time. Now he refuses to even show enough respect for voters to defend his record in open and honest debates. Carney is a sorry excuse for a congressman, trying to win an election behind negative attacks instead of debates."

The 10th Congressional District race is considered one of the most competitive in the country and a prime opportunity for a rare Republican takeover this fall.

Carney this week left the campaign trail for two weeks while fulfilling his duties in the Naval Reserve.