Here's the deal. I want to adopt one of the local House races as my own. One is a true swing district that leans Republican, the other is supposedly a strong Republican district, but in which no credible challenger has opposed the Republican incumbent to my knowledge. I'd like to get some input from other Kosmonauts who may be working on one or both of the campaigns, or who have any other additional information.
The two candidates are dKos 8 member Lois Murphy, running in PA-6, and Lois Herr, running in PA-16.
The case for Murphy: As we now know, Murphy is currently outperforming Gerlach in fund raising and running a good campaign. Because the 6th is a true swing district, Murphy has a much better chance of winning than does Herr, and therefore a much better chance of keeping me out of depression. An internal poll leaked by the Gerlach campaign supposedly shows him leading by 39 points; however, the poll had nearly a 6 point MOE and was likely done to bolster Gerlach's fund raising efforts. Both Murphy and Herr must contend with the presence of a Green candidate.
http://www.loismurphy.org/
The case for Herr: I live in the 16th district, and the local campaign office is not that far away. I'll have the added satisfaction of knowing that victory will result in better representation for me. The incumbent, Joe Pitts, is one of the more outspoken advocates of FMA in the House, has said that "God wanted us to be Americans," and has most recently demanded that he be allowed to preview the UPN show "Amish in the City." In short, he is an embarassment. Because the district is supposed to be safe, Pitts has let his guard down somewhat in terms of his cash on hand. Herr is one of the "Dean Dozens." Although Pitts is courting the Amish vote (which I did not even know existed until recently) in Lancaster County, I can't imagine the war is that popular with religious pacifists. I should also point out that Bush is apparently hoping to get a huge bump out of this district, so any work done on the Herr campaign may help other campaigns.
http://www.loisherr.us/
Pastordan? Anyone?