Posted on 05/17/2006 7:35:20 AM PDT by HostileTerritory
Andrew Dinniman held a lead last night in his bid to become the first Democratic state senator from Chester County in memory.
Dinniman and Republican Carol Aichele, both county commissioners, were seeking to finish the term of Robert J. Thompson, who died in January. Dinniman led by a 5-4 ratio in late returns.
But Aichele was not conceding. "I feel good about this race," she said last night. "It was a great day at the polls."
Dinniman, who toured the polling places yesterday with his dog, Henry, said last night that he was confident that enough Democrats and independents had come out to vote to suppress the usual Republican advantage.
"We had a presence at every precinct," he said. "Statistically, it would be hard for us not to prevail."
(Excerpt) Read more at philly.com ...
"Another state Senate race, in Chester County, could provide an early test for whether President Bush's sagging popularity will hurt other GOP candidates.
Republican Carol Aichele normally would be a prohibitive favorite to defeat Democrat Andrew Dinniman for the late Sen. Robert Thompson's vacant seat. But with Bush's approval ratings near 30 percent and GOP legislative leaders under attack, some pols believe Dinniman has a chance to win."
Is the Pennsylvania legislature at risk for turning over this year? I thought the Democrats were in as deep as anyone with the pay raise disaster. Having the Democrats draw the lines in 2012 in Pennsylvania could be an unmitigated disaster.
ping
A district map shows that this state senate district appears split between Gerlach's district and Weldon's district, with more towns lying in the 6th.
http://www.andydinnimanpasenate.org/wheredoivote.shtml
if chester county is turning blue, the state is screwed.
I don't think it is turning blue. I think that this particular election is more indicative of the mood of most Republicans here. They feel that they have been abandoned and Ms. Aichele was just selected by the party because she has 'done her time'.
You would be hard pressed to find anyone that follows politics at all that has not met Andy Dinniman in person because he worked for Chester County constituents. He is a guy that actually got things done for everyone. Carol Aichele on the other hand is a total political animal. Who liked to complain about the size of her office.
This loss is the Republican Partys fault because they didn't come up with a candidate that everyone knows like they know Andy.
I wish it were the other way around.
Wish I could say that Dinniman will do a bad job, but he won't.
Pa. pubs have not been doing a good job.
What kind of RAT is Dinniman, a Rendell type or a Casey type?
No, Carol is not the darling of the GOP. Both Dinnimen and Achile are county commissioners. Carol happens to be related to a member of a large Philly law firm. We have been told they have the bond business for Chester County. Many of us found that out of bounds. I know many that crossed and voted for the "Rat" because of Achile . Some GOPers just did not want Carol Achile in the Pa Senate. This is one race where both candidates were equally as bad.
I don't think Achile won some of the townships that should ahve been a cakewalk for her. Her own neighborhood
Thank you for the local insights. Legislative elections often turn on issues like that which are invisible to those of us trying to read the tea lives from far away.
Whatever type he is, he's completely buried it on his web site and promotes his tax-cutting credentials vs. his opponent's tax-hike votes.
Quite a few incumbents in both parties went down to defeat in yesterday's PA primaries, including Senate President Pro Tem Robert Jubelirer, R-Altoona, and Senate Majority Leader David Brightbill, R-Lebanon.
I don't know what kind of 'rat' he is. I do know that he is the only County Commissioner that has ever bothered to show up in my little borough. Also, if you had a problem and called the Commissioners, Dinniman is the only one that would actually respond. Most people that I know have met Andy at least once and they like him. In the real world, he is probably the only politician that you don't hear bad things about from the people. That is all I know.
Carol Aichele was supposed to call us last week to talk to us about the issues. She was concerned about our votes so we were told. We never heard a word from her.
DINNIMAN, ANDREW E. (DEM) 21,478 AICHELE, CAROL (REP) 16,733
I met her once -- she was a completely arrogant @$$. Dinneman was always a go-to guy for ChesCo residents.
What if he does a good job? Should we throw him out? Just curious.
I agree.
Ping
Even if the Republicans sell us out at every turn? I don't see the difference. I'm not a troll, I'm a good little Conservative. I'm happy with my principles.
Whoa.. . I'm not voting for Casey. Not in a million years. I'm only talking about Dinniman. He has been more Republican than most of the Republicans. Hopefully, he will continue on that route once in the State Senate.
This was more a referendum on a BAD GOP candidate than anything else, hard to read much else beyond that in such a GOP district.
I really like Jim. He is a genuinely nice person. He really ticked me off when he didn't vote to drill in ANWAR, but for the most part he is Conservative. He is also pretty good on immigration. Not perfect, but better than a lot of them. His campaign needs to understand that this Aichele/Dinniman thing is NOT isolated and it could really hurt him. He has to be aware of the people that put him in office and not succumb to the Washington, D.C. effect...
Yep...the idiot Rich Republican I-Got-Mine Insider Club and fanatical Partisanship-Over-Principle crowds have handed things over nicely... :-(
I think that Andy will require a lot of reminders of why he's where he is, once the state-level crowd gets ahold of him. How about organizing a group dedicated to supporting Andy's conservative side, while keeping him honest?
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