The odd Pennsylvania primary Tuesday could turn out weak or wounded candidates in the general election, according to Politico.
There is a five-way race for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor, a Republican primary to decide who will take on Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., in the fall, and elections for the state's 18 U.S. House seats with seven Republican-held districts seen as potentially competitive.
Democrats need 23 seats to take back the House, which means the primary in Pennsylvania is of great importance for the party's chances, but redistricting and infighting has agitated the landscape for Democrats.
"Wave or not, Democrats are going to pick up seats here, but their success depends a lot on the kind of candidates they pick on Tuesday," Mike DeVanney, a Republican consultant based in the state, told Politico. "Pennsylvania is going to be ground zero in terms of spending for both parties."
The state Supreme Court redrew the districts in February after ruling in a gerrymandering case that Republicans who controlled state government in 2011 had unconstitutionally drawn the districts to benefit their party's candidates, giving Democrats an edge they did not have before by pushing back the election date. Two of the top three Democratic candidates claimed the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee tried to dissuade them running.
"Given that Pennsylvania's congressional maps were completely redrawn, it's typical for candidates to recalculate their campaign plans, as we saw in a number of districts," DCCC spokeswoman Amanda Sherman said. "We made on-the-ground assessments of the political landscape, including multiple Democratic candidates' next steps. At no point was any candidate ever asked to drop out of the congressional race."
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