PA-06

It used to be a candidate had 30 seconds on television to introduce himself to voters in his initial biography commercials. Now they have unlimited time to do so on their websites. Two candidates for Congress have done just that.

Stuart Rothenberg of the Rothenberg Political Reports has the latest House ratings.  Of the races that are up for grabs, Pennsylvania has six that are Rothenberg’s watch list.  read more »

Stuart Rothenberg of the Rothenberg Political Report has the latest House ratings. Of the races that are up for grabs, Pennsylvania has six that are Rothenberg’s watch list.  read more »

Here's a look at the fundraising numbers for U.S. House races in Pennsylvania at the end of the first quarter:

Republican Jim Gerlach, running for reelection in District 6, has raised $420,000 during the first quarter, his campaign announced Thursday. The campaign has raised $1.53 million to date and has $715,000 on hand.

"After three highly competitive elections and a surge in Democratic voter registrations, our campaign knows we cannot take a single thing for granted. We have a full campaign staff, our fundraising is now kicking into high gear and we are readying for another tough election battle," said Congressman Jim Gerlach, who was re-elected to a third term despite a wave of Democratic upsets across the country in 2006. "Our fundraising totals this quarter are a reflection of that."

Gerlach, a three-term incumbent with a history of tough races, will face off against Democratic activist Bob Roggio in November.

For the last two cycles, Democrats have waged expensive, hard-fought races to dislodge Republican Congressman Jim Gerlach in the 6th District, an area that spans Chester, Bucks, and Montgomery Counties.

Both times they failed.

Bob Roggio, a 61-year-old Chester County Democrat, is mounting this year’s challenge, and he says he is taking a different approach.

“Bob is a unique character, not a typical politician, and that’s why we are excited,” said Roggio’s campaign manager Liz Conroy.