Boehner leads pep rally for GOP in Pennsylvania ia

Associated Press

HARRISBURG, Pa.

Fresh off the announcement of a new Pledge to America, U.S. House GOP leader John Boehner delivered a pep talk Friday night to Pennsylvania Republicans who hope to win a U.S. Senate seat and the governor’s office in November.

Boehner told a dinner crowd of hundreds that Republicans probably have a better chance to score big election wins in Pennsylvania than anywhere else.

“We have a great opportunity this year to win,” said Boehner, who is expected to become speaker should Republicans win the House in the Nov. 2 election. “There’s probably no place where we have a better opportunity than we do right here in Pennsylvania.”

Eight incumbent Pennsylvania Democrats sit in U.S. House districts that he said Republicans have a very good chance at winning. Nationally, more than 100 House seats are competitive, and all but two are held by Democrats, while Republicans are competing for the first time in 20 years for U.S. Senate seats and the governors’ offices in California and Illinois, he said.

In Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate race, Republican Pat Toomey held a slight lead over Democrat Joe Sestak in a poll this week. In the state’s gubernatorial campaign, Republican Tom Corbett has a solid lead over Democrat Dan Onorato.

Boehner also criticized Democratic leaders for postponing a vote on extending the Bush-era tax cuts until after the election.