12th District GOP primary is anything but ho-hum
The Republican primary race for the state House in southern Butler County is worthy of a double take or two — maybe three.
Union activists are working on behalf of a GOP candidate, the “L word” — as in liberal — is being bandied about and tens of thousands of dollars are being spent.
So-much for your typical ho-hum primary in the 12th District, which includes Adams, Clinton, Cranberry, Forward, Jefferson, Middlesex and Penn townships, and Callery, Connoquenessing, Mars, Saxonburg, Seven Fields and Valencia.
Tuesday's contest pits eight-term state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe against Gordon Marburger, a farmer and school bus driver.
Marburger, 57, of Adams Township is waging a write-in campaign aimed at pulling off what would be an upset for the ages.
“We know it's an uphill battle for a write-in candidate to beat an incumbent,” Marburger said, “but we have a lot of support out there, and I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't think I could win.”
And he's putting his money where his candidacy is.
From his own pocket, Marburger already has spent more than $43,000, according to his latest campaign expense report filed Friday, the deadline for state office candidates in the primary.
Metcalfe, 51, of Cranberry Township, who has amassed a war chest topping $120,000, mainly left over from previous campaigns, is no campaign pinchfist either. His report lists $16,566 in expenditures for the year ending May 5.
“The money's gone mainly for mailings and website development,” he said.
One mailing, a flier that began circulating in the district Monday, caught Marburger's attention and ire.
“We knew it was going to happen because it's Daryl,” Marburger said. “It says I'm a liberal and Democrats want me to win.”
Specifically, the Metcalfe campaign — and Metcalfe himself — are trying to link his opponent to the union label.
“The group Working America, the community affiliate of the AFL-CIO, has paid volunteers working for (Marburger),” Metcalfe said. “They're going door to door passing out flyers advocating Gordon Marburger against me.”
Considered one of the most conservative lawmakers in Harrisburg and given his unbridled backing of Right-to-Work legislation and the state's embattled voter identification law, it's understandable why he would be labor's target.
Metcalfe, in turn, branded Marburger “the union candidate” and claimed his opponent, if elected, would be “beholden to his union allies and other leftist organizations.”
Marburger acknowledged the canvassers allied with the AFL-CIO, the largest federation of unions in the U.S., are out seeking votes for him.
However, he insisted that neither he nor his campaign had any advanced knowledge about the organization's plans.“I had nothing to do with it,” Marburger said. “We didn't even know they were doing this until they started showing up here.”That defense is not surprising since campaigns, by law, cannot coordinate with outside groups such as Working America.Still, he conceded that he welcomed the unexpected help.“What's really helpful about what they're doing, from what I hear, is they're handing out directions on how to cast a write-in ballot,” Marburger said. “A lot of voters have never done this before.”Metcalfe was all too eager to tie the labor-affiliated political group to his primary rival.“The AFL-CIO supported the (Gov. Tom) Corbett gas tax increase and Obama-care,” he said. “They're for all sorts of tax-and-spend schemes. I guess that's why they're supporting Gordon Marburger.”Metcalfe opposed the $2 billion-plus transportation bill that the Legislature passed and the Republican Corbett signed last fall.The law hikes fuel taxes, traffic fines and motorist user fees.Marburger said if he had been in Metcalfe's shoes, he would have voted for the legislation. The law, he said, will fund road and bridge improvement projects to benefit residents in the district.“I would have supported it,” he said, “because there was no other (funding) alternative on the table.”But Marburger denied being a tax-and-spend liberal, countering the charge from the Metcalfe camp.“I'm pro-life and pro-gun,” Marburger noted.Metcalfe and Marburger this year have raised $16,696 and $9,685, respectively, in campaign contributions, their committee reports showed.Most of Metcalfe's donors were individuals who gave $60 to $250.He also received $1,000 each from the Pennsylvania Life political action committee, Butler County businessman William Adams and Allegheny County businessman Michael Morrow Jr.Additionally, he got $250 each from PACs representing gun owners, motorcyclists, and U.S. Steel Corp. and its employees.Metcalfe's in-kind contributions included $1,481 from Ray Joll, owner of the Quaker Steak & Lube eatery in Cranberry, where the lawmaker held an April fundraiser; and $2,520 from Pittsburgh businessman Donald Rodgers for office space in Cranberry that the incumbent is using as his campaign headquarters.Marburger's contributors, too, were primarily individuals who donated $60 to $500.His candidacy has attracted the support of two influential donors, former county commissioner and political maven Joan Chew, who gave $1,000, and recently retired state Sen. Mary Jo White, whose still active campaign committee also gave $1,000.“They gave me money more because they're friends of the family than for any other reason,” Marburger said of Chew and White.Speaking of family, Marburger's sister, Diane Smith, a Virginia attorney, was his most generous donor, giving $5,000.But for the challenger, a three-term Mars School Board member, his campaign has largely been self-funded.He's tapped $15,684 of his own money for campaign mailings and another $7,124 for yard signs and other campaign materials, according to his report.Marburger's largest personal campaign-related expense was $20,564 in legal fees tied to a ballot challenge waged by a pair of Metcalfe supporters earlier this year.The state Supreme Court on May 2 ultimately ordered Marburger off the primary ballot, ruling that he didn't properly file required paperwork with the state's Ethics Commission.Despite the legal setback, Marburger opted to stay in the race via write-in. He said he's in it to win it.“If I didn't expect to win,” he said, “we wouldn't be pushing so hard and I wouldn't be losing so much sleep.”Metcalfe, who's facing his first primary opponent in six years, has never lacked for confidence. He trusts he'll win — big.“I'd expect this won't be close,” he declared, “like all my other elections.”Lisa Zucco of Cranberry Township, who is running unopposed in the Democratic primary, will face the Republican nominee in the Nov. 4 election.
