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Morning Call: Donations show Dent could be facing a tough fight |
 by Darryl R. Isherwood
April 18, 2008
If donations are any indication of the campaign ahead, U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent may be in for a fight come November.
With more than six months until the general election, Democrat Sam Bennett has raised more than $310,000 in her bid to unseat Dent in the 15th Congressional District. The Allentown resident raised almost $120,000 in the last three months alone.
Click here to read the article.
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Campaign Kickoff Media Coverage |
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 Sam's Campaign Kickoff was a great success, and thank you to everyone who attended!
Check out some of the press coverage of the event on April 3, 2008
Channel 69's coverage ¦ Morning Call ¦ The Pennsylvania Progressive
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Sam Bennett: Democratic Hope in the 15th District |
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By Steven Crockett
OpEd News
April 1st, 2008
If I had only one Republican controlled Congressional District to target in a key battleground state this year, it would be the Pennsylvania 15th. This is a proven Democratic performing District that could very easily take the swing out of the swing state of Pennsylvania. Turning the 15th Congressional District solidly Democratic along with the recent electoral gains made in eastern Pennsylvania by Democrats means the state will remain reliably “Blue” in upcoming elections.
There are only 7 Congressional districts in the nation that were won by both Gore in 2000 and Kerry in 2004 that are currently represented in the U.S. House by a Republican. This seat is currently held by relative newcomer Charles Dent. He is facing a stiff challenge from a talented female candidate in Sam Bennett. With a solid background in politics as a Democratic Party leader, grassroots activist and organizer, Bennett is raising significant support both nationally and locally.
Click here to read full article on OpEd News
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"Heartfelt Progressive Values and Street Smarts" - Firedoglake.com |
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Firedoglake.com
By Howie Klein
Sept. 22, 2007
Pat Toomey was elected to Congress in a moderate swing district (PA-15) and went on to launch a career of right wing extremism. Today he is the leader of the GOP hate group, Club For Growth.
He was succeeded in 2005 by another fake moderate, Charlie Dent, one of those Republicans the traditional media consistently labels a "moderate" for some inexplicable reason, while he continues to amass a rubber stamp voting record that would be completely suitable for a far right Bible Belt district of Alabama but is completely at odds with Pennsylvania's very moderate Lehigh Valley.
Today we welcome Siobhan ("Sam") Bennett, the progressive Democrat running for the congressional seat in PA-15 for her first Blue America session. As you can probably tell from the title, she's pretty much my ideal candidate. I hope you'll see why when you meet her here yourself.
Read the full article in Firedoglake here.
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Bennett to Challenge Dent in '08 |
Easton Express Times
May 18, 2007
By Bill Cahir
U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent, the second-term Republican representing the Lehigh Valley in Congress, will face a Democratic challenge next year from Sam Bennett, a two-time candidate for mayor of Allentown.
Bennett, 49, in an interview today said she had determined to run against Dent because a broad array of Democratic officials had coalesced behind her candidacy, and because she believed that Dent was not well representing people in the Lehigh Valley.
Read the full article at Easton Express Times
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Keystone Dems Steeling for a Run Against Dent - Congressional Quarterly |
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Congressional Quarterly
May 16, 2007
By Greg Giroux
House Democratic strategists have few regrets about their political strategy in the 2006 election, in which they captured 30 Republican-held seats and a majority of seats overall.
But in hindsight, they must wish they had a do-over in Pennsylvania’s 15th District, where a stronger Democratic campaign might have toppled freshman Republican Rep. Charlie Dent amid the worst national political environment for the GOP in decades.
Dent won a second term last November with a modest 53.6 percent of the vote against little-known Democrat Charles Dertinger, a county councilman who spent just $89,000 — compared with $1.3 million for the Republican incumbent. Dertinger took 43.5 percent of the vote despite becoming the party’s nominee by waging a write-in campaign in the primary, in which no Democrat even filed to run.
Read the full article in the Congressional Quarterly here.
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Bennett Fundraising Picks Up - Morning Call |
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The Allentown Morning Call
By Josh Drobnyk
Jan. 31, 2008
Democratic congressional candidate Sam Bennett's fundraising picked up in the last quarter of 2007, having collected $102,731. That gave her $193,696 total so far, and $94,270 cash on hand.
Read the full article from the Pennsylvania Avenue blog
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PA-15 "A Race to Watch" - OpenLeft.com |
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Feb. 2, 2008
"...Definitely a race to watch as Sam Bennett has generated some netroots buzz and is a prolific fundraiser. In 2006 Dent only managed 53% against an underfunded last minute candidate who had to run in the primary as a write in to get on the ballot. This is one of 8 Districts that voted for Kerry with a Repub incumbent. Dent is very vulnerable..."
Read the full article at OpenLeft here.
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In the Press