PA-SD37: Six still in running for state Senate seat
With less than three months until the special election for the 37th state Senate district, the candidates are schmoozing, the nominating conventions are set and the field is thinning -- so much so that, in one instance, one hopeful dropped out to support another on the debate stage.
That's how the landscape sits before the April 2 election, where a once-massive field is now a group of six -- three candidates in each party -- who've spent their days trying to woo the party leaders who will choose the nominees two weeks from now.
The trio of Republican hopefuls -- Allegheny County Republican Committee chairman D. Raja, South Hills business owner and Marine veteran Devlin Robinson and North Fayette Supervisor Bob Doddato -- have been on the phone and meeting face-to-face with their party's conferees, who will convene Jan. 27 to choose the nominee.
The Democrats have been showcasing themselves in front of auditorium crowds,as on Saturday, when Women and Girls Foundation community engagement director Olivia Benson, former Navy officer Pam Iovino and emergency physician Bob Solomon debated in Moon.
Former state Rep. Martin Schmotzer also participated in the Democratic debate, but used his closing statement to drop out and throw his support behind Ms. Benson. It wasn't only theatrical, but indicative of the race at large: there will be much attention over who's supporting whom, and if Democrats will end up picking a candidate who has a shot to win in territory favorable to the GOP.
But all of the political posturing will have to conclude by Jan. 27, when the parties will hold their separate nominating events in lieu of traditional primary elections. At stake is the seat vacated by Republican Guy Reschenthaler, who was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and resigned his seat -- which represents communities in Allegheny County's western and southern suburbs and Peters in Washington County.
https://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-state/2019/01/12/6-still-in-running-for-state-Senate-seat/stories/201901120053
