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Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Dan McCaffery To Run For State Attorney General

Dan McCaffery will run for Attorney General

Dan McCaffery, a candidate for District Attorney in 2009, plans to run next year for state Attorney General. And McCaffery has an important ally, U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, already pulling for him.

That came as news yesterday to former District Attorney Lynne Abraham, who is also considering a run for the post. Abraham is due to meet with Brady soon to talk about the race.

McCaffery last week sent a letter to Democratic Party chairmen in every Pennsylvania county, announcing his intentions.

His letter started with the explanation that he was “writing to you at the request and with the support of my county Chairman, Congressman Robert A. Brady.”

The letter also touted the Pennsylvania political connections his brother, state Supreme Court Justice Seamus McCaffery, made in two statewide races.

Brady yesterday confirmed that he gave McCaffery the OK to send the letter. Brady said he didn’t formally endorse McCaffery but is supporting him.

“The endorsement is done by the state party,” Brady said.

This could be awkward.

Abraham publicly refused be back anyone in the 2009 five-way primary election to replace her.

But she certainly seemed to lean toward McCaffery, who bragged on election day that she said she voted him and was urging others to do so as well.

McCaffery, a former prosecutor, finished second in the Democratic primary election with 30 percent of the vote, behind now-District Attorney Seth Williams.

“I know she’s kind of dropping her name out there in bits and pieces,” McCaffery said yesterday about Abraham’s comments last week that she may run. “I’m not exactly sure if she’s looking to put together a campaign and run around the state.”

Abraham said wants to meet with Brady before saying more.

“I’ll just have to wait and see,” she said. “It’s a big state. It’s a wide open race. There are going to be a lot of people jockeying for position.”

McCaffery said he is trying to lock in Democratic support as other potential candidates are making connections for the race.

Kathleen Granahan Kane, a former prosecutor from Clarks Summit, near Scranton, announced a bid for the Democratic nomination yesterday.

And former U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, who lost his bid for re-election last year, is also considered a possible contender.

Along with his brother’s “deep ties” in Democratic politics, McCaffery said President Obama’s run for re-election next year could be a boost in the race.

The Attorney General’s post, which became an elected position in 1980, has never been held by a Democrat.

“If Obama comes out strong, you’re going to have strong voter turnout in the Southeast and Southwest,” sections of the state, key areas for Democrats seeking statewide office.

Posted by Chris Brennan @ 9:00 PM Permalink | 12 comments

Comments

Comment removed.

Comment removed.

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 11:12 PM, 03/30/2011

sounds greasy, man

— thermal321

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 11:15 PM, 03/30/2011

yawn. who cares. if he couldnt get elected to DA - and he ran a terrible campaign - he sure can't get elected statewide.

— rabbit23

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 11:32 PM, 03/30/2011

Republican's worst nightmare.

— DELCO OBSERVER

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 5:10 AM, 03/31/2011

His political strategy relies on "Obama coming out strong"? Doesn't sound like much of a strategy.

— wylies99

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 8:43 AM, 03/31/2011

wow Phillyphreedom-did mccaffery steal your girlfriend in high school? Pretty pathetic? He ran a strong campaign and finished second in a 5 way race with over 30% of the vote. Raised the most money by far and has a very sucessful law practice. That's my kind of failure. Guess we should elect the same old party hacks who never worked in private industry and back career politicians.

— non excidet

Comment removed.

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 10:01 AM, 03/31/2011

"Raising the most money by far" is only further indication that he is a failure. He had the most money, he had the name, he had the union backings, he had the ward leader support, and as you said he finished second. I don't know what standard you hold yourself up to, but with those types of advantages, there is only one measure of success. If the Phillies don't win the world series, with four ace pitchers, their season is a failure. If you raise the most money and have the most establishment support, and you lose the election, you did not run a successful race.

Furthermore, you really want to talk about "party hacks?". During the DA's race, McCaffery went around BRAGGING that he has spent years servicing the Philadelphia Ward Leaders. Is this your definition of a rebel? The only reason you can attempt to paint McCaffery as an outsider is from his pathetic defeat in the District Attorney's race.

Let me ask, in what form did you work for McCaffery's DA's campaign? Were you an actual staffer, or did you just troll around ward meetings with McCaffery, attempting to whipe the drool off his chin?

— PhillyPhreedom76

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 2:44 PM, 03/31/2011

Better then abraham? I have a pet dog that's better than abraham. Of course my dog is also better than McCaffery. By better I mean more ethical. McCaffery is way too close to his brother and supreme court justice Shameless and is also implicated as part of a shady realestate deal last year.

— nebulus

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 11:10 PM, 03/31/2011

Hopefully Dan McCaffery learned his lesson from the DA’s race and realized what his alliance with Johnny Doc did for him in that race. Do you remember the Seth Williams KYW 1060 commercial 48 hours before the race that simply said “Dan McCaffery is being supported by John Dougherty” and we all know who the Philly DA is today.

PS - I voted for Seamus!

— Fred Druding, Jr.

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 8:16 AM, 04/01/2011

You have to give Seamus McCaffery credit, he's a self-made man who worked hard, created his opportunities and accomplished through his own efforts. Dan McCaffery is trying to ride his brother's coattails to try to get into elected office. It didn't work with the local DA race. This guy is a bit shady too. He had that questionable real estate deal. And, when he was running for DA, his commercials, while always mentioning Seamus is his brother, also always seemed to show him with black people, like he felt the need to get the message out, "Dan McCaffery is a friends of black people"... Dan Caffery should run on your his own merits, if he has any, not his brothers.....

— dmcg1956a

12 comments

About The Philly Clout Team

Chris Brennan, a native Philadelphian and graduate of Temple University, joined the Daily News in 1999. He has written about SEPTA, the Philadelphia School District, the legalization of casino gambling, state government, the mayor, the governor, City Council and political campaigns.

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David Gambacorta spent a small eternity writing about cops, drug dealers and serial killers. Now he’s writing about power and politics – which sometimes reminds him of the old crime beat. He joined the Daily News in 2005. And yes, he knows you’re not quite sure how to pronounce his last name. E-mail tips to gambacd@phillynews.com

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Catherine Lucey joined the Daily News in 2002 and has written about murderous drug gangs, political protesters and Harry Potter. After covering the 2007 mayoral election, she moved over to the City Hall bureau where she has been reporting on the Nutter administration.

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Jan Ransom, a native New Yorker, joined the Daily News in 2010 after graduating from Howard University. She has since written about the difficulty of filing police complaints, tax deadbeats and life after violent home invasions. She joined the Daily News City Hall Bureau in 2011 and has plunged headfirst into reporting on administration budget battles and City Council shenanigans.

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