Could Porter Win Election for English?

19Aug2008 Filed under: Erie, Pa., Kathy Dahlkemper, Phil English, Politics Author: Peter Panepento

Independent Steven Porter has long been a vocal critic of incumbent Rep. Phil English – and gave him more than a cursory challenge for Pennsylvania’s third-district seat in 2006.

Now, as English faces perhaps his biggest challenge from Democrat Kathy Dahlkemper, Porter could end up being English’s best friend.

The Wall Street Journal notes that Porter is getting the endorsement from the liberal political action committee Blue America:

In northwestern Pennsylvania, where two-time Democratic challenger Steven Porter has launched an independent progressive bid against Republican Rep. Phil English, Blue America has endorsed Mr. Porter rather than the Democratic nominee, Kathy Dahlkemper.[Activist Howie] Klein has praised the third-party run and helped Mr. Porter raise money despite Democratic concerns that a divided liberal vote will hurt the odds of a party pickup in a tight race.

Porter, without much backing from the Democratic party, took 42 percent of the vote in 2006.

Dahlkemper is getting considerable support from the party this year — but she could see Porter cut into her possible vote haul in November, a la Ralph Nader in 2000.

Tags: Blue America, Congress, Erie, Pa., Kathy Dahlkemper, Phil English, Politics, Steven Porter

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

6 Responses to “Could Porter Win Election for English?”

bojosmom
August 20th, 2008 at 2:41 am

This Congressional election appears to me similar to the Presidential race in that many wonks are of the opinion that the Democrats should be leading by a landslide and yet that is not the case. Mr. Porter’s run will indeed impact the Democratic challenge to Rep. English. But that’s our political system, for better or for worse. If Ms. Dahlkemper does the work and invigorates her campaign and reaches out to the voting public she could still come away with a victory.
Dale Hannah
August 20th, 2008 at 7:01 am

I believe Porter made the showing he did in 2006 due more to dissatisfaction with English rather than widespread appeal of his own. This year is a whole new ballgame, and I think voters will appreciate the opportunity to vote for a more desirable candidate. My guess is that Porter, if anything, will hurt English, rather than help.
Scott Bremner
August 20th, 2008 at 10:48 am

When I interviewed Porter last I asked him this very question. As an
“outsider” candidate (he doesn’t like that description) with a wary eye on the mainstream, his response was classic:

“I took 42 percent of the vote last time. Maybe she (Dahlkemper) will be cutting into me!”
Matt
August 20th, 2008 at 7:22 pm

Porter may be the guy walking around Erie next year who was solely the reason for a Phil English victory and a Kathy Dahlkemper defeat.

Steve Porter may soon be Erie’s version of Ralph Nader.
Ed Tonkin
August 20th, 2008 at 7:34 pm

In short, who cares. All three candidates are terrible chioces, three evils. They will continue to support the inflationary polices of the Fed and Federal government, which is slowly destroying American and its working class and middle class and our children and grandchildrens’ savings, property, and Liberty.

The Federal government is a semi-facist state that refuses to obey the Constitution. There is more to the Constitution than the First Amendment. It was designed, with the Bill of Rights, to hold the Federal government in check. None of these candidates is worth the office of Congressman/woman from Erie or anywhere.

Don’t vote for the lesser of three evils. Find a nice Third Party (Libertarian, Green, or Constitutionalist) and vote for them to protest this farce of an election. Or, if no Third Parties, write yourself in.

Myself, if possible, I’ll vote for the Libertarian if he gets on because the McCain Campaign is trying to knock Bob Barr, and therefore the potential 3rd District Candidate, off the ballot. Seems that Porter isn’t the only potential spoiler in this election.

“The lesser of three evils is still evil’, Frank Zappa and many others.
Tom Kramer
August 27th, 2008 at 9:12 am

Kathy Dahlkemper still has a tough job ahead of her even with the Porter likely to be taken out of the race. However, it is clear that she is up to the challenge. She is not the lesser of three evils, but instead, the strongest candidate that we have seen in a decade. She is just the citizen-politician that we need in this time of distrust towards Congress. As a small business owner, someone who has worked in the health care field and a mother of five, she has the biography to push English on his heels.

It will be an exciting race to watch, and I believe that Kathy will emerge as the victor.

Entries (RSS)
Comments (RSS)

About 'Outside Erie'

Peter Panepento After more than six years working as a journalist in Erie, I'm now the web editor for the Chronicle of Philanthropy in Washington, D.C., and the publisher of GlobalErie.com. I still maintain close ties to Erie - a community that I care about deeply. I hope this Web site can help inspire a better future for Erie.

Recent Comments
The Latest

Outside Erie