Start your engines

We have a winner in the 33rd Senate district’s write-in campaign on the Democratic side: It’s Bruce Tushingham, a retired teacher from New Oxford. According to the Chambersburg Public Opinion and other sources, Tushingham collected more than 1.600 votes. Rich Alloway, who won the Republican primary, came in second with 1,200 votes. Bob Curley, Jim Taylor and Cathy Cresswell, the three other candidates in the GOP primary, each took about 600 votes.

Alloway and Tushingham will have some company in Green Party candidate Andy Johnson. I hesitate to make a prediction in this race, but something tells me Alloway has a pretty good shot.

Signs of Spring (7)

The sign-posters were busy on primary eve along the Lincoln Highway. Hillary Clinton racked up nine signs, more than doubling her previous total. Barack Obama tripled his haul, coming in at three signs. Two new ones appeared on the square in Abbottstown. John McCain even had a sign off the square in New Oxford. So, with less than seven hours until the polls close, Clinton leads the “Count of Presidential Yard Signs along Route 30 between York and Gettysburg, Pa.”

Does this mean she’ll win tonight? Who knows. But if I were her, I would try to avoid saying anything nice about anybody no matter what happens. Look how it got Obama in trouble…We wouldn’t want our politicians doing anything but tearing each other down.

Signs of Spring (2)

The latest polls show Hillary Clinton gaining momentum in Pennsylvania. But the yard signs on Route 30 tell a different story. Her lone supporter appears to have had second thoughts and taken down the sign I saw last week. In its wake is a sign for Barack Obama in front of a house on the eastern edge of New Oxford. He now is in the lead, 1-0.

The sign is significant given that this stretch of highway is fairly hostile territory for any Democrat, let alone one facing his own Sistah Souljah moment. Is it just me or does Obama seem more like Bill Clinton circa ’92 every day?

The campaign that is drawing more attention along the Lincoln Highway pits Cathy Cresswell against Rich Alloway. The two Republicans are competing for a state Senate seat whose current occupant, Terry Punt, is retiring. The two candidates probably have more than three dozen signs along Route 30. Wherever one appears, the other is sure to follow.

Signs of spring

Observers have fingered a bunch of stats to determine who is leading in the presidential primary: Google searches, Facebook friends, Eventful demands, YouTube views, whatever. I have my own metric now to forecast who will win the Democratic primary in Pennsylvania on April 22: Yard signs along the 25-mile stretch of Route 30, the old Lincoln Highway, between Gettysburg and York.

The detail-minded might point out that this geographic slice of the Keystone State is in no way representative of anything. I agree. It is probably whiter, older and more rural-working class than the state as a whole. True. But there also are pockets of Hispanics in New Oxford and Abbottstown as well as a coffee shop in New Oxford– just the type of place Obama supporters apparently like to meet (business reporters take note).

If there actually are any Democrats in this part of the state, they probably support Clinton. So, the appearance of any signs for Obama can be construed as a positive indicator: he is making inroads into parts of the electorate that have been less fervent in supporting him.
So, without further ado, here is the count as of 1:16pm on March 11:

Hillary Clinton: 1

Barack Obama: 0

The Clinton sign appeared on a flat part of Route 30 west of the York Airport. Yes, York has an airport. The sign was on the south side of the road.