Between the governor's race and the contest for U.S. Senate, I guess we were all expecting a pretty contentious year in Pennsylvania politics.
But it looks like things should be hopping at the local level, too. U.S. Rep. Rodd Platts, R-York County, has a rare primary opponent in the person of Mike Smeltzer, executive director of the South Central Pennsylvania Manufacturers Association. Smeltzer's pretty well known in the local business community, so he could give Platts a run for his money.
Democrat Ryan Sanders also plans to take on Platts in the general election. Sanders is a newcomer and thus kind of a long shot, but who knows? It hasn't been a great year for the political status quo.
Counting state Rep. Eugene DePasquale, D-West Manchester, an incumbent in the Democratic-heavy 95th district, the local Democrats also have would-be candidates in six of the county's seven state House districts.
With the exception of the 95th, all of those districts tend to vote Republican. So those Democratic candidates likely have an uphill fight on their hands. Still, you could say that just fielding those candidates was a victory of sorts for the local Democratic Party.
The more candidates the party can put up, the more vital the party looks. In past years, local Democrats have struggled to get candidates to run for office.
In a way, it's not surprising. Campaigning takes a lot of time and work. And if you're a Democrat in a heavily Republican district, you know the odds are very much against you to begin with.
So win or lose come November, local Democrats are probably already congratulating themselves just on their slate of candidates.
Rep. Ron Miller (PA-93) had better not start relaxing either...sources close to me say he may also have a primary challenger.
I'll look into that. Thanks for the tip.