Perhaps the most damning statement to come from a Philadelphia Inquirer story questioning the future of Katie McGinty’s campaign came from her own campaign chairman, former Governor Ed Rendell:
Unless McGinty and the organizations supporting her can buy $3.5 million to $4 million of television time, ‘she won’t win,’ said Rendell, her campaign chairman.
Rendell has sent similar public calls for help to McGinty’s Washington establishment allies before. He’s even told reporters that “anyone who undertakes a primary [against Joe Sestak] should do so at their own peril.”
The story also calls into question McGinty’s poor fundraising and the return on her spending noting, “McGinty burned through $7 of every $10 raised last quarter without any gains in polling.”
But polling is just one of many places that cracks in the McGinty campaign are showing. Her home county chairman notes, "I’m really not sure what her campaign has been about so far." (Note: McGinty’s home county overwhelmingly endorsed Sestak)
McGinty’s campaign is also criticized as “flat,” and “too generic, tethered to well-worn talking points.”
Read more:
As primary nears, Dems wonder: Can McGinty rally?
The Philadelphia Inquirer
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In interviews this week, more than a dozen Pennsylvania Democratic operatives and officials – most of them uncommitted in the race – largely praised [Katie] McGinty’s resume and intelligence.
But they also flagged warning signs. A majority said her campaign has so far left them, and party activists, flat. Her message, they said, has been too generic, tethered to well-worn talking points such as raising the minimum wage and "fighting for the middle class."
They questioned the return on her spending: McGinty burned through $7 of every $10 raised last quarter without any gains in polling. Her campaign is now counting on outside support for a TV push over the finish line.
And finally, while asking not to be named critiquing their potential nominee, they worried about her embrace of insider endorsements – Gov. Wolf and former Gov. Ed Rendell, big labor unions and top Senate Democrats – in a year when voters have spurned traditional politics.
"People were expecting Katie to have a bigger impact than she has so far," said David Dunphy, a Democratic consultant based in Philadelphia, and one of the few willing to speak publicly.
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In late January, as she was meeting with Democratic senators in Washington, her chief rival, Joe Sestak, was in her home county, Chester, winning the local party endorsement.
Brian McGinnis, who had worked on Sestak’s campaigns years ago and now chairs the Chester Democrats, said McGinty could be a "great candidate," but needed to be more visible.
"I’m really not sure what her campaign has been about so far," he said.
A Franklin & Marshall poll released last week showed McGinty with 12 percent support among Democratic primary voters – statistically unchanged from the 13 percent she had when she entered the race in August.
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Sestak will also likely have more money for the air war. He had a $1.4 million cash advantage as of the latest campaign filings.
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Unless McGinty and the organizations supporting her can buy $3.5 million to $4 million of television time, "she won’t win," said Rendell, her campaign chairman.