Pennsylvania Democrats voiced concern over their state party’s stability ahead of the 2024 election, Politico reported Friday.
Along with being a battleground in presidential races, a competitive Senate race will also be on the ballot, and Pennsylvania has a state Supreme Court election this November. Several Democratic strategists, elected officials, former party employees and other operatives across the state told Politico they fear the state party isn’t well-equipped for the upcoming cycles, citing financial struggles and mistrust.
“It’s amateur hour,” a state committee member, granted anonymity to speak candidly about the state party, told Politico. “It’s a f—ing disaster,” said a former state party staffer.
Ahead of a recent meeting with Pennsylvania activists, the party made thousands of flyers reading “Vote at Polls: Election Day Tuesday November 8,” according to Politico, but Election Day is actually Nov. 7. This mishap spurred speculation about the state party’s stability among Pennsylvania Democrats ahead of key elections.
The state party experienced mass layoffs in July, and an affiliated political action committee (PAC) had only $7,500 cash on hand in early June, according to Politico.
“It’s concerning that the state party is laying people off as we’re heading into a really important Supreme Court race, which then leads into the presidential year,” Mike Mikus, Democratic consultant based in Pennsylvania, told Politico. “They’re going to have to figure out a path forward to build their own fundraising operation, and it sounds like there’s a lot of building to be done right now.”
An open seat on the state Supreme Court is on the ballot this November, with Republican Carolyn Carluccio and Democrat Daniel McCaffery vying for more of their party’s control on the bench. With the death of Justice Matt Baer last year, the Court went from having a 5 -2 Democratic majority to a 4-2 majority.
Democratic Sen. Bob Casey is up for reelection, and his seat is characterized in the “Lean D” category along with races in Michigan, Montana, Nevada and Wisconsin, according to The Cook Political Report’s ratings. Casey has held the seat since 2007, and no prominent Republican has yet challenged him for 2024.
Because of these recent headwinds, Democrats are questioning the leadership of Chairman Sharif Street, who has been serving in the Pennsylvania Senate since 2016, according to Politico.
“Pennsylvania is the single biggest battleground state in the country in the presidential election, and we have a total incompetent, lazy guy who has no clue what he’s doing running the state party,” a top Pennsylvania Democratic elected official told Politico.
Street emphasized that the party isn’t facing financial woes, and told Politico they received a $700,000 grant earlier this year from democracyFIRST, and the Pennsylvania Democratic Party’s federal PAC most recently reported it had $200,000 in the bank. The chairman attributed the mass layoffs to requests of donors who voiced concern over the state party’s overhead.
Street emphasized that the party isn’t facing financial woes, and attributed the mass layoffs to requests of donors who voiced concern over the state party’s overhead, he told Politico. The party received a $700,000 grant earlier this year from democracyFIRST, and the committee’s federal PAC most recently reported it had $200,000 in the bank, said Street.
“I really should have done some of that trimming back last December,” Street told Politico. “But they were people who had won so many elections. We have done things no other party did. And I couldn’t look at any of them in the face and say I wanted to let them go.”
The Pennsylvania Democratic Party, Street, Casey and McCaffery did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.
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