DNC Chair Like Chances in PA

The head of the Democratic National Committee is ignoring the polls, and talking about Democratic gains in Pennsylvania in this fall’s election. Recent polls show both Dan Onorato and Joe Sestak trailing their statewide races by double digits, and the website RealClearPolitics rates five Democratic Congressional seats as either tossups or leaning toward Republican pickups. But DNC Chair and former Virginia governor Tim Kaine says he’s hoping to gain at least two Democratic congressional seats in PA. Kaine says the party needs to energize its voter base, “Pennsylvania had between half a million and a million first-time voters in 2008. I can’t remember the precise number, but it was huge. And we’re using that as a universe. Going out and saying, look, you came out strong to vote for change. And we want to make sure we put partners in place who will continue to move the nation forward, and not backward.” Polls show a widening “enthusiasm gap” between Democrats and Republicans, with GOP supporters much more eager to vote in November. Kaine, who was in Pennsylvania to raise money for Congressional candidate Manan Trivedi, will deliver a speech in Philadelphia on Wednesday. He says he’ll use the event to lay out the choice facing voters this year.