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Chester County Democrats endorse Trivedi

Last summer, Democrats thought the seat held by U.S. Rep. Jim Gerlach was theirs for the taking. In a district leaning ever more to the left, that confidence swelled when Gerlach said he would not seek reelection. The lone Democratic candidate had already begun campaigning and would pour more than $900,000 of his own money into the bid for the party's nomination by the end of 2009.

Last summer, Democrats thought the seat held by U.S. Rep. Jim Gerlach was theirs for the taking.

In a district leaning ever more to the left, Gerlach said he would not seek reelection. The lone Democratic candidate had already begun campaigning and would pour more than $900,000 of his own money into the bid for the Democratic nomination by the end of 2009.

Now that's all changed.

Gerlach, a four-term Republican incumbent, is back in the race after abandoning his run for governor. And yesterday, Gerlach's best-financed competitor, Steve Welch, dropped out, ending what could have been an expensive primary battle between the two.

On the Democratic side, Doug Pike, who launched his campaign in April, has been joined by two other candidates, a Lower Merion Township commissioner and an Iraq war veteran who has yanked away several of Pike's endorsements. Yesterday, the veteran, Manan Trivedi, secured the support of the Chester County Democratic party, winning 99 of 140 votes, besting Pike's 40 votes.

As Pike, a former Inquirer editorial writer, and Trivedi, wrangle over endorsements and snipe at each other, some Democrats worry that a divisive May 18 primary could drain resources, hurting the party in the fall.

With the GOP already uniting around Gerlach, many political observers see the Democrats chances fading and now favor the GOP. But Democrats hope they can convert in a district where 58 percent voted for President Obama.
But first, they have to rally around a candidate.

"We should try to preserve our money for the fall and not beat everybody up in the spring," said Marcel Groen, head of the Montgomery County Democrats.

"Pike was the only candidate for a time and it looked like it might even tilt to him," said John Kennedy, associate professor of political science at West Chester University. "And now he faces the challenge from his own party and Gerlach is back. He has to get one of (the county party) endorsements."

The Sixth Congressional District is sprawling and diverse, including Main Line houses in Montgomery County, farmland in Chester County and urban areas like Reading, Norristown and Coatesville. Chester County has the largest percentage of total voters in the district, but Montgomery County has the most registered Democrats.

Drawn in 2002, the district is shaped somewhat like a crab, with its claws extending into Berks and Montgomery County, its body in Chester County. A small section of Lehigh County also votes in the Sixth.

Pike, 60, ended the year with more than $1 million cash on hand. He has portrayed himself as the inevitable candidate, the only one with the organization and the money to beat Gerlach.

"We're doing fine," Pike said yesterday after Trivedi won the nod from the Chester County Democratic party. "We have the resources to win the primary and the general."

Trivedi, 35, a Reading doctor who served as a battalion surgeon with the Marines in Iraq in 2003, has attacked Pike for self-funding, a typically coveted attribute.

"This race should be about deep experience, not deep pockets," Trivedi said at a candidate's forum in Tredyffrin Township this week. "In my opinion, we have enough millionaires in Congress."

Trivedi said yesterday that the Chester County endorsement should help with local fundraising and added that he's already in contact with national Indian-American organizations who will likely contribute.

Primary elections tend to draw mostly party loyalists to the polls, so endorsements from party leadership can have matter more. And Pike and Trivedi have been fighting tooth and nail for every one.

The fighting worries some.

A group of prominent Democratic fund-raisers recently met with U.S. Rep. Chris Van Hollen Jr. of Maryland, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, in a Center City Law office. Several in attendance, noting Gerlach's reentry, expressed concern that clashes between Pike and Trivedi could hurt the party's chances for victory in the fall.

"Van Hollen shrugged and said he couldn't do much of anything to stop it," said one participant in the private meeting who did not want to be identified. The situation is "frustrating," he said.

Party leaders in Berks County, where Trivedi grew up, typically do not endorse in the primary. Pike, who lived or a long time in Lower Merion until moving to Paoli last year, was considered the front-runner in Montgomery County.
Still, Trivedi is getting some traction in Montgomery County, and yesterday's endorsement may help him convince more people to back him. The third candidate to enter the race, Brian Gordon, the Lower Merion commissioner, might also draw from Pike's support there.

"Doug Pike is considered the favorite, but Manan Trivedi is an impressive candidate," said Groen, the Montgomery Democratic chief who expects the party will endorse at a March 11 meeting.

Trivedi announced last week the support of an influential Chester County Democrat, Commissioner Kathi Cozzone.
"Commissioner Cozzone can carry a lot of clout within the Democratic establishment in Chester County," said Kennedy. "That's a real blow to Pike. If you're the front-runner and you're losing your endorsements, it's hard to portray yourself as the preordained candidate."

Pike released an endorsement of his own Friday: Wayne Burton, former Chester County Democratic chair.

"We feel very strong going in," said Pike spokesman Andrew Eldredge-Martin, who said Pike has "aggressively" gone after Chester committee people. "We would love to have the party machine working for us, but we're comfortable with our level of grassroots support."

Contact staff writer Joelle Farrell at 610-627-0352 or at jfarrell@phillynews.com
Staff Writer Thomas Fitzgerald contributed reporting to this article.