Montco Dems endorse Berks doc for Congress

There's a doctor on the warpath in the Philadelphia suburbs.

Manan Trivedi, a former Iraq War battalion surgeon from Berks County, sent his wife a victorious text message Thursday night as Montgomery County Democrats gathered in Plymouth Meeting to endorse a candidate for the 6th Congressional District race:

"Trivedi Wins."

In September, the 35-year-old physician launched a long-shot campaign against Doug Pike, a former Inquirer editorial writer with a ton of cash who had already lined up the support of the district's Democratic insiders.

Pike's still got more money - including the nearly $1 million that he has contributed to his campaign - but Trivedi now appears to have the momentum.

Trivedi trounced Pike, 77-28, in Thursday's vote for the Democratic nomination in Montgomery County, home to the most registered Democrats in the crab-shaped district. Last month, Trivedi got the Chester County Democratic endorsement.

"I think as people get to know me and hear my story, that I'm not a typical politician, they may look at me as sort of a new breed of civil servant," said Trivedi, the son of immigrants from India who worked at the Red Cheek apple-juice factory.

"The more I got out there, the more people jumped in my camp," he said.

The party backing in Chester and Montgomery counties means that Trivedi, who lives in Birdsboro, near Reading, will have his name on sample ballots at the polls and foot soldiers working on his behalf in the May primary.

But Pike, the son of former Democratic U.S. Rep. Otis Pike, isn't backing down. "I feel I'm going to win it," said Pike, 60, of Paoli.

This week, the Chester County Young Democrats unanimously endorsed Pike, and 17 labor unions are in his corner.

"They speak for working families," he said. "The race is about creating jobs and reforming a broken health-care system and making sure every child has the chance to get a great education."

The Democratic nominee will likely face Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Gerlach in November. Gerlach is being challenged in the GOP primary by Tea Party candidate Patrick Sellers.

Christopher Borick, a political-science professor at Muhlenberg College, said that the party endorsements for Trivedi have erased the notion that Pike is the presumptive nominee.

"He has to be considered a very relevant candidate in this race, and someone that can absolutely emerge from the primary," Borick said of Trivedi.

Trivedi finished last year with $123,400 cash on hand, compared to Pike's $1.1 million. Trivedi said yesterday that he is raising money at a "very strong clip" and plans to solicit funds from veterans' groups, doctors and Indian-Americans.

But Pike can always tap his personal bank account for TV ads, if needed, which could give him an advantage in the expensive Philadelphia media market.