Swann/Scranton/Piccola

According to GrassrootsPA.com, US Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan has made it clear she is not interested in running, this reduces the field back to three: Swann, Scranton, and Piccola. At this moment the frontrunner still has to be Scranton, but certainly Swann if he gets his act together could really pull ahead.

This race at the moment is anyones for the taking, look for a handicap of each of the candidates in the next few days.

Santorum Site Up For Senate

In a story only slightly related to the gubernatorial race, Rick Santorum launched his senate site today. Pretty much indicates he will not make the run for Governor, which has been the early rumor this summer, but now that is a dead one. Just shows how these rumors go.

Mac McCawley Drops Out

Mac McCawley today announced he would be dropping out of the Gubernatorial race. Rendell Blog would like to wish him well and hope he stays active in the political scene, his drop out notice is listed below:

I'd like to thank everyone who has called and offered help, support, and advice over the past few months as I set up and kicked off the campaign. I have spoken with hundreds of you on the phone and by email and truly enjoyed the experience. I will try to contact as many of you as possible personally in the next few weeks.

I'm sorry to announce that I am suspending my campaigning for at least a few months. The reasons I'm doing this is:

- The response has been less than what I feel is necessary to continue. There are too many distractions (Swann, mystery candidates, continuing questions on Congressman Toomey's potential run) that are preventing any serious attention from being paid to an outsider like me.

- An extremely hostile response by nearly all party officials. Most were rude, condescending, or just plain unpleasant. Phone calls were not returned, email's ignored. I was hoping for professional behavior, nothing more. Congressman Toomey and his staff, however, were fantastic!

- Questions raised by my employer on my long term commitment. I can not risk my job at this point with a daughter in college and other financial obligations. Fund raising totaled $0.00

Amen Mac! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Rendell Blog.

Vote in our weekly poll!

Rendell Blog will be offering a weekly poll from now on, and this first poll will be the traditional who is likely to win the GOP Gubernatorial race question. So go ahead and vote for your favorite and get your friends to do so too. The voting ends next Friday at midnight.

Charlie Dent: Possible Gubernatorial Run?

Sources inside the Harrisburg capitol reported that rumors are brewing that newly elected Congressman Charlie Dent may be setting his sites a little higher. Though very much in the begining phase, one staffer from a Senator's office has reported that Dent has been making the rounds to see where his colleagues fall for the GOP primary.

A Dent entry into the race would be a major blow to Senator Piccola as he would likely undercut alot of the institutional support that Piccola would otherwise recieve.

Such a jump after being newly elected to Congress would probably be frowned upon, by most and overall is unlikely but again the rumors swirl. Dent showed much political adeptness by jumping into the race for retiring Rep. Toomey's seat and showing significant fundraising prowess in the process.

Look for more as it develops.

EXCLUSIVE: Lehigh Valley Candidate Considering Gubernatorial Run

Rendell Blog has learned that another GOP governor candidate may come from the Lehigh Valley. We are working to confirm the possibility at the moment, but once we do look for it to break here first!

Possible Candidate, Glen Meakem, Will Not Run - GrassrootsPA

Grassroots PA is reporting that possible GOP Gubernatorial hopeful, Glen Meakem (founder of FreeMarkets) is not going to run for Governor. Glen was all the hubub around GrassrootsPA as a possilbe conservative savior, but the entrance of Lynn Swann has sucked all the life out of his efforts.

He reportedly has not ruled out a run in 2010 (but how bout a run for mayor of Pittsburgh, we could use it). Meakem started a Fortune 500 company and has the money certainly to put together a legitimate challenge, though that does not neccesarily guarantee sucess. If he ran as a solid conservative it certainly would have allowed the money and the grassroots to coalese, though too little is known about him to make any serious considerations.

Glen Meakem's Recent Donations:

MEAKEM, GLEN MR SEWICKLEY,PA 15143	$5,000	Freemarkets Inc
MEAKEM, DIANE B MRS SEWICKLEY,PA 15143	$2,000	Bush, George W
MEAKEM, GLEN T SEWICKLEY,PA 15143	$2,000	Santorum, Rick
MEAKEM, GLEN T SEWICKLEY,PA 15143	$2,000	Santorum, Rick
MEAKEM, GLEN T SEWICKLEY,PA 15143	$2,000	Specter, Arlen
MEAKEM, GLEN T MR SEWICKLEY,PA 15143	$2,000	Bush, George W
MEAKEM, GLEN T MR SEWICKLEY,PA 15143	$2,000	Republican National Cmte
MEAKEM, GLEN T MR SEWICKLEY,PA 15143	$1,100	Hart, Melissa
MEAKEM, DIANE SEWICKLEY,PA 15143	$1,000	Santorum, Rick
MEAKEM, DIANE B SEWICKLEY,PA 15143	$1,000	Santorum, Rick
MEAKEM, GLEN SEWICKLEY,PA 15143	$1,000	Martinez, Mel
MEAKEM, GLEN SEWICKLEY,PA 15143	$1,000	Murtha, John P
MEAKEM, GLEN SEWICKLEY,PA 15143	$1,000	Coors, Peter
MEAKEM, GLEN SEWICKLEY,PA 15143	$1,000	Republican Federal Cmte of Pennsylvania
MEAKEM, GLEN T SEWICKLEY,PA 15143	$1,000	Specter, Arlen
MEAKEM, GLEN T SEWICKLEY,PA 15143	$1,000	Americans for a Republican Majority
MEAKEM, GLEN T SEWICKLEY,PA 15143	$1,000	Americans for a Republican Majority
MEAKEM, GLEN T MR SEWICKLEY,PA 15143	$1,000	Hart, Melissa
MEAKEM, GLEN T MR SEWICKLEY,PA 15143	$1,000	Hart, Melissa
MEAKEM, GLEN T MR SEWICKLEY,PA 15143	$1,000	America's Foundation
MEAKEM, GLEN T SEWICKLEY,PA 15143	$500	Specter, Arlen

Rendell Comes Out AGAINST Gas Tax

In a clear campaign effort, Gov. Rendell condemned any attempt to raise the gas tax, which would be highly unpopular. The Governor, who has up to now not met a tax hike he didn't love, has finally put his foot down, which is a good thing because the irresponsible Republican leadership was ready to run with this massive tax raise.

Rendell knows that his fiscal credentials are his biggest liability, and is going to try to use fights like these to bolster himself as being "responsible" with the tax dollars of the people of this state, though nothing could be farther from the truth. When is the GOP going to actually realize that Republicans win when they fight for smaller government and lower taxes... GOP Gubernatorial platform anyone?