Rather than openly advocating for an open primary, senior party officials are backing Megan Griffin-Shelley despite the apparent lack of votes needed to secure the endorsement. Leadership’s best-case outcome at Wednesday night’s Montgomery County Democratic Committee (MCDC) convention appears to be an open primary for the 148th Pennsylvania House seat.
For reasons that have not been publicly articulated, DCLMN and MCDC leadership appear eager to block front-runner Jason Goodman from winning the endorsement. Goodman has posted an impressive list of support, including endorsements from six incumbent members of the 148th District (out of 14), a former Democratic state senator from Lower Merion, the Mayor of Narberth, two Narberth councilmembers, six (out of 14) Lower Merion commissioners, two (out of seven) Lower Merion School Board members, eight current state representatives, two current state senators, and the Chair of the Delaware County Council.
Campaign Finance
Griffin-Shelley reported 40 contributors totaling $42,309 to her campaign. Goodman’s total contributions amounted to $38,634, but he had more than twice as many unique contributors (89) as Griffin-Shelley. Only 10 of Griffin’s contributors were from the district, compared with 51 of Goodman’s contributors who were district residents.
If Goodman wins the endorsement on the first ballot (by no means an impossibility), Leadership should breathe a sigh of relief.
Because they won’t have to decide what to do on the second ballot. But after the first ballot, if Goodman appears within striking distance but falls short of winning the endorsement, the situation becomes more complicated for leadership. If, instead of folding their tents and encouraging the committee to unite behind Goodman, they try to make one last stand to block him, that effort could be interpreted by a large percentage of the rank and file as the outgoing leadership making a desperate attempt to maintain control — a perception that could accelerate calls for new leadership when the committee reorganizes after the primary.