GOP aids Green candidate Carl Romanelli
By Peter Jackson, Associated Press WriterTue Aug 1, 1:48 AM ET
Thanks to the generosity of GOP donors, a Green Party candidate is expected to make it onto the ballot in Pennsylvania's Senate race and siphon votes from Democratic front-runner Bob Casey in his bid to unseat Republican Sen. Rick Santorum (news, bio, voting record).
While Santorum said Monday that he would welcome another candidate on the ballot, Casey's campaign accused Republicans of "trying to steal the election."
Green Party candidate Carl Romanelli, making his first bid for statewide elective office, acknowledged Monday that Republican contributors probably supplied most of the $100,000 that he said he spent gathering signatures to qualify for the Nov. 7 ballot.
Romanelli said he expects to turn in far more than the required 67,070 signatures by Tuesday's deadline.
"I have friends in all political parties. It's just that my Republican friends are more confident about standing with me than my Democratic friends. And as a group, my Republican friends are a little better off," he said in a telephone interview.
Romanelli, of Wilkes-Barre, supports abortion rights, while both Santorum and Casey oppose them. Political observers say Romanelli's candidacy would likely draw votes from Casey, the state treasurer, who has held a double-digit lead over Santorum for months.
Records on file with the Federal Election Commission show the Luzerne County Green Party received $66,000 in June from 20 contributors who gave between $1,000 and $5,000 apiece. more
What amuses me about this is that I had previously suggested that had the Dems financiers given the Constitution Party similar help in Ohio in '04 Kerry might have won. The Constitution Party candidate pulled off one percent of the vote in that race with very little finacial support. You could start seeing this tactic more in close races and in swing states. If that happens we might actually start having viable a few viable third parties. And that would make politics very interesting indeed.
Until then there's still Unity 08
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