Erie, PA- Democratic Congressional candidate Kathleen A. Dahlkemper has attracted national attention this past week from political reporters in Washington, D.C.

Below, are excerpts from national political publications citing Dahlkemper's mounting momentum as she enters the fall general election against Republican incumbent Congressman Phil English.

On Wednesday June 20, 2008, The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) released a list of 20 emerging races, where Democratic candidates are running strong campaigns that are generating excitement in their districts . As a candidate on the emerging races list, the DCCC is assisting the candidate where needed and doing all it can to ensure success.   Kathy Dahlkemper is one of twenty on the list.

Sam Bennett (PA-15)
David Boswell (KY-02)
Colleen Callahan (IL-18)
Kathy Dahlkemper (PA-03)
Jill Derby (NV-02)
John Dicks (FL-09)
Judy Feder (VA-10)
Nick Leibham (CA-50)
Dan Johnson (NC-10)
Mike Montagano (IN-03)
Jill Morgenthaler (IL-06)
Tom Perriello (VA-05)
Bob Roggio (PA-06)
Steve Sarvi (MN-02)
Dennis Shulman (NJ-05)
Josh Segall (AL-03)
Michael Skelly (TX-07)
Annette Taddeo (FL-18)
El Tinklenberg (MN-06)
Vic Wulsin (OH-02)

The good news of Dahlkemper being recognized by the DCCC as a race to watch was followed by more good news when the highly respected Washington, D.C. based Stuart Rothenberg wrote in his column for RollCall.com of four candidates that impressed the often hard to impress Rothenberg.   

On June 21, 2008 Rothenberg wrote an article titled "Good Candidates Come in All Shape and Sizes".   In his own words, "Every election cycle, I meet a lot of candidates running for the U.S. House of Representatives. Some, in fact many, have more liabilities than assets. But some actually impress me. This column is about four of them, and I'd advise keeping an eye on each at least until November.

PA-03: Lake Erie Arboretum dir. Kathy Dahlkemper (D): Dahlkemper "clearly has what it takes to be a top-tier challenger to" Rep. Phil English (R)...When it comes to campaigns.. . . she scores well on sincerity, and acts like your neighbor rather than a career politician... In addition, Dahlkemper is a pro-life Democrat in a district with plenty of conservative Democrats...Dahlkemper is a likable, articulate, common-sense citizen-politician . . . . . English would be wise not to underestimate her appeal." .
Rollcall.com by Stuart Rothenberg

Dahlkemper ended last week with the Washington Post noting that Republican members of Congress are in trouble across the country and specifically noted that Congressman English has a real reason to be concerned.

"Asked if the election were held today which party's candidate would they vote for in their own congressional district, 53 percent of registered voters said they would back the Democratic candidate, compared with just 38 percent said they would support the Republican candidate.

Democrats have now led in the generic congressional ballot in a Post-ABC survey for the better part of five-and-a-half years. (The Post-ABC partnership did not ask the question in 2004.) The last time the generic was even was in November 2002, when Democrats and Republicans each received 48 percent.

While the generic ballot is regarded as an imperfect measure, such a wide -- and sustained -- lead for one side suggests the national playing field will be heavily tilted toward Democrats.

It also means that incumbents who have not faced serious challenges in the past will have to defend themselves against able candidates with significant financial backing from the national party.  Few of those incumbents appear on our list of the 20 most-endangered seats this time, but there is reason to believe that people like Reps. Phil English (Pa.), Shelley Moore Capito (W. Va.), John Shadegg (Ariz.), and Mario Diaz-Balart (Fla.) will face very competitive reelection races. "   
Washington Post.com Politics Blog by Chris Cillizza

About Kathy Dahlkemper

Kathy Dahlkemper, 50, is the Democratic nominee for Pennsylvania's 3rd Congressional District, having won decisively on April 22, 2008.   With a margin of 20 points over her closest rival, Dahlkemper's campaign has gotten the attention of Democrats and Republicans alike.   The overwhelming success of the primary is indicative of the type of hard work and success that Dahlkemper has shown throughout her life and will bring to Congress once elected.     

A graduate of Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, Kathy is a community and civic leader and has spent her adult life working to improve the community through numerous projects including the development of the Lake Erie Arboretum at Frontier Park (LEAF).  Dahlkemper is the director of (LEAF) and vice president of the LEAF Board of Directors.  Since 1997, Dahlkemper has been responsible for securing over $2 million in public and private funding for the Arboretum and coordinates daily operations including programming, marketing, fundraising, site management and collaboration with government, civic and private partners.

Concurrently, Dahlkemper is the Director of Human Resources and Special Projects at her family owned business, Dahlkemper Landscape Architects & Contractors.

Dahlkemper cites the issues of war, healthcare, climate change, education, jobs, and national debt among those to be addressed in greater depth throughout her candidacy and service as Congresswoman.

Dahlkemper is married to Dan Dahlkemper and is the mother of five - Aron, Gretchen, Linden, Tricia and Nathan.  

For more information about Kathy Dahlkemper, visit online at www.kathydahlkemperforcongress.com [1].