In PA-6, a Dem primary that wasn't now emerges
9.16.2009
Dan Hirschhorn
PA2010.com
Dan Wofford had passed. Bob Roggio had said no thanks. State Senator Andrew Dinniman (D-Chester) had also decided againstrunning for Congress in the 6th District. The Democratic primary field seemed clear for former Inquirer editorial writer Doug Pike. Campaign and party insiders were poised to focus all their attention on the general election, seemingly eyeing their best chance of winning the seat since it was first redrawn by Republicans in 2002.
And then Manan Trivedi showed up.
When the Iraq War veteran and Reading doctor first declared his candidacy this month, party insiders didn't know exactly what to think. Many, especially in the more liberal, Montgomery County sections of the district from which the party has often drawn its nominees, had never heard of him. He wasn't exactly well-known in Chester County. Trivedi hails from the Berks County section of the district that makes up less of the primary electorate, but is critical in the general election and has eluded Democrats in recent cycles.
But in just over a week, Trivedi has impressed some Democrats. And even if they don't think he can win, few deny that his candidacy has, at a minimum, substantially shifted the dynamics of a race that had seemed over before it began and set up a primary that will showcase two candidates of strikingly different backgrounds and political styles.
"At first you think, 'who is this guy jumping in the race?'" said a Democratic insider not involved in the campaign. "But he seems to be an impressive and now formidable opponent. He's not the standard Lower Merion candidate that we've recruited for that seat in the past."
Even those who support Trivedi are hesitant to say he can beat Pike, who has piled up a vast amount of establishment support, has substantial personal wealth to draw upon and has put together what is by all accounts a top-notch campaign team. Pike has already given his own committee more than half-a-million dollars, according to campaign finance data.
But Trivedi didn't enter the race politically empty-handed. His chief political consultant, Daren Berringer, has worked for high-profile Democrats ranging from Howard Dean and John Edwards to Bob Casey, Jack Wagner and Patrick Murphy. And while he has little time to raise money before the current campaign finance period closes on Sept. 30, he is said to have hit the ground running. His campaign Web site is dynamic, and he wasted no time in rolling out an endorsementfrom Roggio, last year's Democratic nominee for the seat.
"If I didn't think I was the best candidate, I wouldn't be in it," Trivedi toldpa2010.com in an interview this week.
Pike campaign manager Andrew Eldridge-Martin said that "Manan has been unofficially running for months and we welcome his entrance into the race," though that statement would seem to belie the stark lack of chatter about him in the months before his announcement.
"We're gonna keep running our own race," Eldridge-Martin said. "I don't see this as something that has particularly changed that. Doug is really focused on fighting for real health care reform, fixing the economy, creating jobs and getting our fiscal house in order. That flows directly from his 22 years of close involvement in issues of public policy and the local community, as part of a major regional institution."
Even Democrats who support Pike voice a desire for Trivedi to stay involved in local politics in the future. But after one Berks County insider pulled his support from Pike, some Democrats do fear the possibility of a hotly-contested primary.
"Let's hope they don't spend half-a-million dollars trying to beat each other in the primary when we really need to win that seat," a party insider said. "I hope it doesn't get bloody and divisive and negative, because it only hurts us in a year that's tough for Democrats anyway."
The fundraising numbers that Trivedi reports next month will go a long way toward showing whether he can seriously compete. But Roggio said fears of a primary were misplaced.
"I don't agree with the conventional wisdom," he said. "It allows for more exposure. We have two unknown candidates here. If we have a debate and we have some press and some discussion, they'll both get more exposure than they would have otherwise.
"I would have been a better candidate [last year] had I gone through the training of a primary," he added.
And Trivedi has a simple answer to those concerns: "If you're asking me what I say to Democrats who worry about a primary, I say, 'support me. I'm the best candidate.'"
More than anything else, the primary will set up candidates who offer striking contrasts. Pike is the wealthy son of a former Congressman, a longtime establishment voice in the mainstream media who, so far, has run a textbook campaign. Trivedi is the son of Indian immigrants who has had little handed to him in life. Pike's personality is widely described as reserved, while Trivedi is seen as effusive.
"At the end of the day, look at what we stand for, where we've come from, what we've done with our lives and then choose the best candidate," Trivedi said. "That's what I'd ask everybody else to do. When I judge candidates, when I vote for people, that's what I do."
The Democrat not involved in the race put it simply: "Certainly for insiders, this is going to be a real fun one to watch."
Correction: This article originally misstated the amount of money Doug Pike has given his own campaign. As of the July quarterly filing, Pike had kicked in over half-a-million dollars of his own money, not more than $1 million.
And then Manan Trivedi showed up.
When the Iraq War veteran and Reading doctor first declared his candidacy this month, party insiders didn't know exactly what to think. Many, especially in the more liberal, Montgomery County sections of the district from which the party has often drawn its nominees, had never heard of him. He wasn't exactly well-known in Chester County. Trivedi hails from the Berks County section of the district that makes up less of the primary electorate, but is critical in the general election and has eluded Democrats in recent cycles.
But in just over a week, Trivedi has impressed some Democrats. And even if they don't think he can win, few deny that his candidacy has, at a minimum, substantially shifted the dynamics of a race that had seemed over before it began and set up a primary that will showcase two candidates of strikingly different backgrounds and political styles.
"At first you think, 'who is this guy jumping in the race?'" said a Democratic insider not involved in the campaign. "But he seems to be an impressive and now formidable opponent. He's not the standard Lower Merion candidate that we've recruited for that seat in the past."
Even those who support Trivedi are hesitant to say he can beat Pike, who has piled up a vast amount of establishment support, has substantial personal wealth to draw upon and has put together what is by all accounts a top-notch campaign team. Pike has already given his own committee more than half-a-million dollars, according to campaign finance data.
But Trivedi didn't enter the race politically empty-handed. His chief political consultant, Daren Berringer, has worked for high-profile Democrats ranging from Howard Dean and John Edwards to Bob Casey, Jack Wagner and Patrick Murphy. And while he has little time to raise money before the current campaign finance period closes on Sept. 30, he is said to have hit the ground running. His campaign Web site is dynamic, and he wasted no time in rolling out an endorsementfrom Roggio, last year's Democratic nominee for the seat.
"If I didn't think I was the best candidate, I wouldn't be in it," Trivedi toldpa2010.com in an interview this week.
Pike campaign manager Andrew Eldridge-Martin said that "Manan has been unofficially running for months and we welcome his entrance into the race," though that statement would seem to belie the stark lack of chatter about him in the months before his announcement.
"We're gonna keep running our own race," Eldridge-Martin said. "I don't see this as something that has particularly changed that. Doug is really focused on fighting for real health care reform, fixing the economy, creating jobs and getting our fiscal house in order. That flows directly from his 22 years of close involvement in issues of public policy and the local community, as part of a major regional institution."
Even Democrats who support Pike voice a desire for Trivedi to stay involved in local politics in the future. But after one Berks County insider pulled his support from Pike, some Democrats do fear the possibility of a hotly-contested primary.
"Let's hope they don't spend half-a-million dollars trying to beat each other in the primary when we really need to win that seat," a party insider said. "I hope it doesn't get bloody and divisive and negative, because it only hurts us in a year that's tough for Democrats anyway."
The fundraising numbers that Trivedi reports next month will go a long way toward showing whether he can seriously compete. But Roggio said fears of a primary were misplaced.
"I don't agree with the conventional wisdom," he said. "It allows for more exposure. We have two unknown candidates here. If we have a debate and we have some press and some discussion, they'll both get more exposure than they would have otherwise.
"I would have been a better candidate [last year] had I gone through the training of a primary," he added.
And Trivedi has a simple answer to those concerns: "If you're asking me what I say to Democrats who worry about a primary, I say, 'support me. I'm the best candidate.'"
More than anything else, the primary will set up candidates who offer striking contrasts. Pike is the wealthy son of a former Congressman, a longtime establishment voice in the mainstream media who, so far, has run a textbook campaign. Trivedi is the son of Indian immigrants who has had little handed to him in life. Pike's personality is widely described as reserved, while Trivedi is seen as effusive.
"At the end of the day, look at what we stand for, where we've come from, what we've done with our lives and then choose the best candidate," Trivedi said. "That's what I'd ask everybody else to do. When I judge candidates, when I vote for people, that's what I do."
The Democrat not involved in the race put it simply: "Certainly for insiders, this is going to be a real fun one to watch."
Correction: This article originally misstated the amount of money Doug Pike has given his own campaign. As of the July quarterly filing, Pike had kicked in over half-a-million dollars of his own money, not more than $1 million.
