Malvern Resident Carol Aichele Leaves the Lieutenant Governor’s Race

Chester County Commissioner Carol Aichele said last night that she was ending her bid for Lieutenant Governor, just days before the state Republican Party meets to make a formal endorsement next weekend. Aichele made her announcement in an e-mail to supporters late Sunday night.  Her decision came shortly after the completion of regional straw votes.  If memory serves me correctly, I think that there have been 5 GOP straw polls held over the last few weeks.  Although straw polls are not binding, they are an indicator as to where the party is leaning.  I guess we can assume that Carol’s decision was based on her showing in those votes.

The following is from Carol Aichele’s website:

I wanted to thank all of you for your support and encouragement during my campaign for Lieutenant Governor. From the Poconos to Pittsburgh and from Erie to Philadelphia, it has been my honor and privilege to meet with countless Republicans who share my determination to create a new beginning for Pennsylvania.

While I truly enjoyed this time in my life, I wanted to let you know that I will no longer be a candidate for Lieutenant Governor.

Since I entered this race last June, my number one priority has always been to help Tom Corbett become the next Governor of Pennsylvania. Even though I will no longer be a candidate for Lieutenant Governor, I remain committed to this priority. I will do everything I can to help Tom and will work so that he will win Chester County by the largest margin possible.

I believe it is imperative that we unite behind Tom and that our party endorse one candidate for Lieutenant Governor. Unnecessary and expensive primary campaigns will only hurt our chances of defeating the Democrats this fall.

So to all my fellow Republicans, state committee members, party leaders and fellow Lieutenant Governor candidates, I want to thank you again for the time we spent together during this journey. Your support, encouragement and well-wishes will never be forgotten.

How Did the Lieutenant Governor Straw Poll Go for Tredyffrin Resident Carol Aichele?

Yesterday in Harrisburg, the Republican Central Caucus held its first straw poll vote for GOP lieutenant governor candidates; 104 votes were taken. How did our local GOP candidate Carol Aichele do?

The downside for Commissioner Aichele was that she did not lead the vote count; businessman Chet Beiler (29 votes) from Penn Township narrowly edged out Dauphin County Commissioner Nick DiFrancesco (26 votes). However, the upside of the straw poll is that no candidate received even 30% of the central vote in this first of 6 straw polls across the commonwealth.  But remember the straw poll is not binding and it is probably too early to read too much into yesterday’s results.

Here’s the breakdown of the vote from yesterday’s straw poll:

• Lancaster County businessman Chet Beiler: 29 votes
• Dauphin County Commissioner: Nick DiFrancesco: 26 votes
• Philadelphia-based political commentator Joe Watkins: 17 votes
• Bucks County Commissioner Jim Cawley: 13 votes
• York businessman Steve Johnson: 9 votes
• Chester County Commissioner Carol Aichele: 5 votes
• Former Lancaster County treasurer Greg Sahd: 1 vote
• Erie’s Jean Craige Pepper: 1 vote
• Lebanon County Reform activist Russ Diamond: 0 votes

Straw Poll Tomorrow in Harrisburg Begins the Short-List Process for Tredyffrin Resident Carol Aichele

Chester County Commissioner and Tredyffrin Township resident Carol Aichele is on the candidate list of Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor hopefuls. She is on a list that includes as many as a dozen Republican candidates who have expressed an interest in Pennsylvania’s second-in-command position.  How does a candidate try to position his or herself as a frontrunner as the candidates start to look ahead to the May primary. . . ?

The GOP is holding six non-binding straw polls throughout the commonwealth starting tomorrow in Harrisburg. All meetings will take place before the February 13 state Republican Party Committee when historically an endorsed candidate is announced along with a US Senate and gubernatorial candidate.

 There is some talk that with such a long list of candidates the solution could be an open primary on May 18.  However, tomorrow the non-binding straw poll will begin to help the State GOP sort out their favorites among the large pool of hopefuls, all jockeying for frontrunner positioning.

Here is the latest list of the top 10 GOP Lieutenant Governor candidates.  State Rep Tom Killion of Delaware County was on the Republican candidate list for Lieutenant Governor but dropped out of the race today. 

Carol Aichele, Chester County Commissioner
Chet Beiler, Lancaster County
Jim Cawley, Bucks County
Russ Diamond, Lebanon County, reform activist
Nick DiFranceso,  Dauphin County Commissioner
Steve Johnson, York; founder/CEO of Homecheck, Inc.
John Kennedy, Cumberland County
Jean Craige Pepper, Erie County
Rick Schenker, Erie County executive
Joe Watkins, Philadelphia political commentator