Pennsylvania state elections, 2008

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

Presidential Primary

Democratic Primary

Pennsylvania's Democratic Primary to award the state's 158 pledged delegates took place on April 22 2008. Senator Barack Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton were the only 2 Democratic candidates on the ballot. [http://www.dos.state.pa.us/bcel/lib/bcel/elections/petition_filers.pdf]

According to official results from the primary, Clinton won 54.6% of the vote, and Obama took the remaining 45.4%. [http://www.electionreturns.state.pa.us/ElectionsInformation.aspx?FunctionID=13&ElectionID=27&OfficeID=1 Pennsylvania Department of State: 2008 General Primary, Official Returns]

Republican Primary

Constitutional officers

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. [ [http://www.philly.com/inquirer/politics/pa/20070702_From_Pa__suburbs__2_run_for_treasurer.html Philadelphia Inquirer: "From Pa. suburbs, 2 run for treasurer," 2 July 2007] ]

John F. Cordisco of New Hope, Robert McCord of Lower Merion, Dennis Morrison-Wesley of Harrisburg, and Jennifer Mann of Allentown sought the Democratic nomination for Treasurer in the primary held on April 22, 2008. [ [http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/state/s_558556.html Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Four Dems seek party's nod for state treasurer," 22 March 2008] ] McCord won the primary by a fair margin and will face Tom Ellis in the general election on November 4, 2008. [ [http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/state/20080423_Democrats_pick_McCord_to_run_for_Pa__treasurer.html Philadelphia Inquirer: "Democrats pick McCord to run for Pa. treasurer," 23 April 2008] ]

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." [http://www.mccord2008.com/bio Rob McCord for State Treasurer: Bio] ] 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. McCord's opponents, especially Cordisco, have accused him of a lack of financial transparency and of risking conflicts of interest were he to become Treasurer. [ [http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS212418+11-Apr-2008+PRN20080411 Cordisco Campaign, via PRNewswire: "Candidate for Pennsylvania Treasurer Rob McCord's Track Record Managing Commonwealth's Money Called Into Question," 11 April 2008] ]

Tom Ellis of Cheltenham is the Republican nominee for the position of Treasurer after running unopposed in the primary. [ [http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/pa/20080313_Two_running_for_treasurer_survive_ballot_challenges.html Philadelphia Inquirer: "Two running for treasurer survive ballot challenges," 13 March 2008] ] Ellis, an attorney, is partner in the Public Finance Department of the firm Ballard, Spahr, Andrews & Ingersoll; he has also served on the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners and the Cheltenham Township Board of Commissioners. [ [http://ellis4treasurer.com/ellis/about.php Tom Ellis for Treasurer: About Tom Ellis] ]

Attorney General

Incumbent Republican Tom Corbett of Shaler and Democrat John M. Morganelli of Bethlehem were unopposed for their parties' nominations for state Attorney General. [ [http://www.yournorthhills.com/northhillsnews/article/pennsylvania-general-primary-heating Your North Hills: "Pennsylvania General Primary heating up," 20 February 2008] ] In 2004, Morganelli lost the Democratic primary to Jim Eisenhower, who lost to Corbett in general election. [ [http://www.electionreturns.state.pa.us/ElectionsInformation.aspx?FunctionID=13&ElectionID=10&OfficeID=5 Commonwealth of PA - 2004 Elections Information: Attorney General] ] 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. [ [http://usinfo.state.gov/eap/Archive_Index/Prepared_Testimony_by_John_M._Morganelli.html USINFO: "John M. Morganelli Testifies on "Local Enforcement of Immigration Laws," 1 October 2003] ]

Auditor General

Incumbent Democrat Jack Wagner of Pittsburgh was unopposed for the Democratic nomination for Auditor General. Republican Chet Beiler of Penn Township was also unopposed for the Republican nomination after primary opponent Chris Walsh withdrew from the race, citing problems with his nomination petitions. [ [http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/217053 Lancaster Online: "Beiler's GOP Pa. auditor race opponent drops out," 21 February 2008] ]

Jack Wagner defeated Joe Peters in the 2004 election. [ [http://www.electionreturns.state.pa.us/ElectionsInformation.aspx?FunctionID=13&ElectionID=11&OfficeID=6 Commonwealth of PA - 2004 Elections Information: Auditor General] ]

Pennsylvania General Assembly

:"See: Pennsylvania House of Representatives election, 2008 and Pennsylvania State Senate elections, 2008."

tatewide Ballot Referendums

ee also

*United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania, 2008

External links

References