No Democrat filed the required amount of signatures to appear on the ballot for the April 24 primary, but the Chester County Democratic Committee had been working to find a write-in candidate since then, and they have now found their man. Rob Broderick, a communications specialist with the Pennsylvania State Education Association, will seek the nomination.

Broderick, whose name now appears on the county committee’s list of Democratic candidates for 2012, will have to garner at least 300 valid write-in votes in order to secure the nomination of his party. The seat has been held by Duane Milne, a political science professor at West Chester University, since 2007. Milne will face a primary challenge this month from fellow Republican Joe Corrigan of East Whiteland Township.

Broderick has been known to appear in the editorial section of the Daily Local News, and as recently as March he wrote a letter decrying the state’s new voter ID law. Broderick works for PSEA, the state’s teachers’ union, as spokesman for the association’s southern and mideastern areas.

The 167th district covers the Borough of Malvern, as well as the townships of East Pikeland, Charlestown, West Whiteland, East Whiteland, Willistown, and Easttown. The district has never been represented by a Democrat.

Based on the 2010 census, the maps are now out far too late to be used for the 2012 elections. They will not go into effect until the 2014 state elections.

As far as Chester County is concerned, there are several tidbits worth taking a deeper look at. For one, West Chester has been left intact in a single state House district, the 156th. Phoenixville, however, has been split up once again, between the 155th and the 157th. When the first round of maps were drawn, the fact that West Chester and Phoenixville were split between two districts was one of the reasons that led the state Supreme Court to throw the maps out. Now one has been left intact, but the other remains split.

The county is now divided between four Senate districts, unlike the current situation in which there are four major districts but two other Senate districts largely based in other counties cover a few townships in Chester County.

Also of big importance to the county is the addition of a new House seat, as was the case in the maps that were thrown out. The newly created 74th district covers the Route 30 corridor from Parkesburg through to Downingtown. Previously, the 45th district had been moved to that area in the maps that were thrown out. The 74th was chosen because its current representative, Bud George (D-Clearfield County), is retiring.

The only other municipality that was split up the House map, it appears, is West Goshen Township, which is now split between the 156th and 158th districts. It currently is part of the 156th, represented by Dan Truitt (R) since 2011. Truitt’s district will move south to pick up the townships of Westtown, Thornbury, and Birmingham. The 158th, represented currently by Chris Ross (R), loses the Kennett Square area to the 160th, represented by Steven Barrar (R).

On the Senate side, Republican Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi’s 9th district moves east, taking East and West Goshen and Westtown Townships but giving up almost all of the southern part of the county to Democrat Andy Dinniman’s 19th district. Dinniman would now represent the areas of West Grove and Oxford, as well as Coatesville, which previously was part of the 44th.

As far as the 44th is concerned, it picks up the northeastern part of the county that used to belong to the 19th. Currently represented by Republican John Rafferty, this district would represent areas like East and West Vincent Townships and the Borough of Spring City.

Finally, Edwin Erickson (R) and his 26th district would shed Westtown Township for Willistown, and would continue to represent Easttown Township.

The new maps will now enter a 30 day period for public comment. The first public hearing is scheduled for May 2. But again, these maps will no longer affect the 2012 elections. They would most likely take effect for the 2014 state legislative elections.

High resolution versions of both preliminary maps can be found at this post on the excellent PoliticsPA blog.

Party operatives and campaign staffers descended upon Harrisburg earlier today to hand in petitions and get their candidates on the ballot.

Petitions to get on the ballot in 2012 were due for state Senate and House candidates on Thursday, meaning the field is now closed in all elections throughout the county for this year.

After the historic PA Supreme Court decision back in late January that threw out the new state legislative district maps, candidates were forced to regroup as the maps from 2001 are back in use.

Most notably in Chester County, this meant that the new 45th district, moved in from western PA to represent areas along the Route 30 corridor like Downingtown, Thorndale, and Coatesville, no longer exists. It’s back in the Pittsburgh area, which means that candidates like Caln Commissioner Josh Young and Downingtown Mayor Josh Maxwell had to rethink their plans. Some, like Maxwell, chose to run in an old district, while others, like Young, chose to wait for another year.

Also affected was the impending 19th Senate district primary battle, where former state Rep. Tom Houghton was to challenge incumbent Andy Dinniman. The return to the old districts meant that Houghton was no longer in the 19th, and he chose to end any campaign ambitions this time around.

After the break, I’ll round up all of the area races, from President to the state Senate and House.

For the office of President, if you’ve been following along you’ll know that four candidates remain on the GOP side, and all of them made the ballot in Pennsylvania. Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, and Newt Gingrich all made it, while Barack Obama will be unopposed on the Democratic side.

Five candidates remain in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate. Chester County businessman Steve Welch has been endorsed by the state GOP, but still is being challenged by the Tea Party-backed former state Rep. Sam Rohrer, farmer Tom Smith, Vietnam veteran David Christian, and former Santorum staffer Marc Scaringi. Incumbent Bob Casey will face a futile challenge from Allegheny County machinist Joseph Vodvarka.

The U.S. congressional races are simple enough. First of all, they are the only races that will use new maps, meaning the 6th, 7th, and 16th districts will cover entirely new areas this year.

In the 6th district, we will see a rematch as incumbent Jim Gerlach faces off against Berks County doctor Manan Trivedi. The district has changed drastically, shedding any areas in Delaware County and now reaching all the way into Lebanon County. Here in Chester County, the district covers eastern and northern areas such as Phoenixville, Malvern, Downingtown, and now West Chester.

Gerlach has always found a way to hold onto his seat, winning by only a few points on certain occasions, but this time Trivedi will have the turnout of a presidential election on his side and the result could be different.

Pat Meehan will look to hold onto his 7th district seat, which has been horrendously gerrymandered and extends into five different counties. As far as Chester County is concerned, the district covers rural areas around Kennett Square, Downingtown, and Coatesville, without actually containing those urban areas themselves. It then moves into the northwestern part of the county and picks up the Honey Brook and Elverson areas.

Taking on Meehan, the former U.S. Attorney for Eastern PA, will be Delco attorney George Badey III, who has served as the leader of the Radnor Democrats and is partner at a law firm in Philadelphia.

Finally, the 16th district will see longtime incumbent Joe Pitts go against 29-year-old Iraq veteran and defense logistics consultant Aryanna Strader of Kennett Township. The 16th district, which previously included all of heavily Republican Lancaster County, has become a bit more blue, picking up large parts of the Reading area and swapping a small Democratic stronghold in West Chester for a large one in Coatesville. Some of Lancaster County has also moved to Meehan’s 7th. Nevertheless, the district remains a near-lock for the Republicans.

Now let’s move to the state Senate, where the maps will now stay the same as they have been for the past decade. Only two districts are up in 2o12, which is a year for the odd-numbered districts. The 9th, which is held by Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, covers the southern part of the county, including Oxford and Kennett Square; it also reaches up to grab Parkesburg and Sadsbury Township.

Pileggi will face a primary challenge from Chester County resident George Howard. In the general election, the winner of that primary will go against City of Chester resident Patricia Worrell, a real estate agent.

In the 19th district, the return to the old maps mean Dinniman will no longer face a primary challenge. Instead, he will face East Fallowfield Township Supervisor Chris Amentas in the fall. The district covers eastern, northern, and central parts of the county, including Downingtown, West Chester, Malvern, Paoli, Phoenixville, and Spring City.

And now for the state House. In the 13th district, incumbent John Lawrence will face Eric Schott of London Grove. Schott is a high school teacher. Lawrence won the seat in 2010 from Tom Houghton, who had served one term. The district covers southeastern parts of the county like Parkesburg, Atglen, Oxford, and West Grove, as well as the Borough of South Coatesville.

The 26th district will see incumbent Tim Hennessey, an attorney, take on Michael Hays, who serves on the Spring City Borough Council. The area includes the northern part of the county, such as Spring City , Honey Brook, and Elverson, and also reaches down to pick up Coatesville, but does not include South Coatesville.

In the 155th district, incumbent Curt Schroder is retiring. Two Republicans have gotten onto the ballot for the primary; Becky Corbin, Schroder’s former legislative aide, and John Muller. On the Democratic side, Josh Maxwell has entered this race after having to end his bid for the struck-down 45th district. The Downingtown Mayor will not face a challenge in the primary. This seat covers Dowingtown as well as the Lionville-Marchwood area and goes as far north as South Coventry Township.

Dan Truitt will seek to win reelection for the first time in the 156th district, which covers West Chester Borough as well as East and West Goshen Townships and the southern half of East Bradford Township. Truitt won the seat from Barbara McIlvaine Smith in 2010. Two Democrats will face off in a primary first, though. West Chester Borough councilor Cassandra Jones and attorney Bret Binder will fight for the right to take on Truitt in the fall.

The 157th district will see a rematch between incumbent Republican Warren Kampf and Democrat Paul Drucker. In 2008, Drucker won the seat to become the first Democrat to hold it. Then in 2010, Kampf took the seat right back for the GOP. Back in 2005, Drucker won a seat on the Tredyffrin Board of Supervisors, becoming the first Democrat to hold office in the township’s 300-year history. This seat represents Phoenixville and Paoli and also includes a very small part of Montgomery County.

The 158th district will see a rematch as well, with incumbent Chris Ross taking on special needs and first responders advocate Susan Rzucidlo. In 2010, Ross easily won the election over Rzucidlo by a 64-36 margin. The district covers Kennett Square and Avondale and also reaches up to include parts of Caln Township. U.S. Rep. Joe Pitts formerly served this district.

In the 160th district, incumbent Steven Barrar will run unopposed. The district covers Pocopson, Birmingham, and Thornbury Townships as well as some Delco areas. It would have included the southern half of West Chester, but the new maps were thrown out.

Duane Milne will also have a somewhat easy road to retaining his seat in the 167th district, facing only a Republican primary challenge and no Democratic opponent. He will take on East Whiteland resident Joe Corrigan, who earned less than 10% of the vote in 2010 when he ran as a third-party candidate to the right of Milne. The 167th includes East and West Whiteland, Malvern, Charlestown, East Pikeland, Willistown, and Easttown.

Finally, the 168th district will see incumbent Republican Thomas Killion face a Democratic challenger in Delco resident Beth Alois. As far as Chester County is concerned, this district only includes Westtown Township. It is almost entirely a Delco district.

That’s it for the candidates in area elections in 2012. If you don’t see a name here, they probably decided to wait until 2014. Keep your browser pointed to ChesCo Politics for all the news on these races, including some interesting primaries which will take place on April 24.

Maxwell, a Democrat, joins a field that already includes Caln Township Commissioner Josh Young as well as real estate project manager Barry Cassidy of Downingtown. On the Republican side, several candidates have entered the fray such as Young’s Caln Board of Commissioners counterpart Chuck Kramer, Downingtown State Constable Doug Castaldi, and Brandywine Health Foundation Chairman Harry Lewis, who was formerly the principal of Coatesville Area Senior High School.

The new seat is expected to trend Democratic, as it includes urban areas along the Route 30 corridor such as Downingtown, Coatesville, and Parkesburg. Its creation shored up area Republicans in exchange.

With such a crowded field on both sides, endorsements from each of the county party committees will be important. Neither has endorsed a candidate. The primary will be held on April 24th.

Maxwell is the youngest mayor in the history of the borough of Downingtown, at 26 years of age. He graduated West Chester University in 2008, and earned a master of public administration degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 2011. He was elected mayor in 2010 during his time at Penn, defeating a Republican who also was 26 years old.

The Democratic primary will be especially interesting given that two members of the Chester County Young Democrats will be facing off. Both Maxwell and Joshua Young served on the executive board of the Young Dems, including Maxwell as president.

To add extra fuel to the fire, Young attended Coatesville Area Senior High School, while Maxwell is a graduate of fierce rival Downingtown High School.

In very related news, Spring City Borough councilman Michael Hays, another Young Dem, became the first Democrat to announce his candidacy in the 155th state House district. He will seek to replace outgoing Rep. Curt Schroder, a Republican who is retiring when his term ends.

Houghton had originally planned to take on state Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R-9th) in the fall, but his house was drawn out of Pileggi’s district during the state legislative redistricting process. His home municipality of London Grove now is a part of Dinniman’s 9th district.

From 2009-2011, Houghton represented the 13th state House district in Harrisburg. His territory included areas in western and southern Chester County, including Parkesburg, Atglen, Oxford, and West Grove. All of those areas are also now included in Dinniman’s 19th district, which is expected to trend Democratic. Pileggi’s 9th, however, has become more Republican, and that probably ruled out any chance of Houghton moving to a new home in the 9th to take on Pileggi.

State Sen. Andy Dinniman

Dinniman has been criticized by fellow Democrats throughout the last year, especially due to his support of the vouchers/school choice bill currently on the Republican agenda in Harrisburg.

In the coming weeks, the favorite will emerge from what could become a competitive primary. The state Democratic party holds its nomination convention in about a week, while the Chester County Dems will hold their endorsement meeting on the 25th. Whichever candidate can earn these key endorsements throughout January will have a big edge in winning the nomination.

Primary elections in Pennsylvania will take place on Tuesday, April 24th. Republican Chris Amentas, who serves on the Board of Supervisors in East Fallowfield Township, has also announced his candidacy for the 19th Senate district.

That candidate, Malvern businessman Steve Welch, announced today an impressive war chest of $1 million in cash on hand. Most of that money has been loaned to the campaign by Welch himself.

Welch also revealed an impressive team of consultants and campaign directors, many of whom also worked on the successful campaigns of Republicans Pat Toomey and Tom Corbett in 2010.

“I am honored to have received the support of those who have contributed to my campaign,” Welch said in a statement. “The contributions come from people who are concerned about the direction of our country and the ever growing size of our federal government.”

Welch is one of a number of candidates seeking the Republican nomination to take on Casey in the fall. He is joined by former state Rep. Sam Rohrer, attorney and former Rick Santorum aide Marc Scaringi, and former Congressional candidate Tim Burns, among several others.

Rzucidlo, whose organization SPEAK Unlimited provides training and support for police officers, firefighters, and EMTs, took on Ross as the Democratic nominee in 2010 but was crushed by the popular Republican incumbent by a 64-36 margin. Even then, Rzucidlo promised she would return in 2012, and she is coming through on that promise.

Ross has served since 1997 when he replaced Joe Pitts, who vacated the seat in order to run for U.S. Congress, where he himself has served since. Previously, Ross served on the London Grove Township Board of Supervisors as chairman. In the state house, Ross is chairman of the urban affairs committee and he serves on the environmental resources and energy committee.

While few give Rzucidlo much of a chance in this heavily Republican district against a popular incumbent, she will run again, this time with a bit more name recognition than before. From her campaign website:

Susan believes it is time to put public service back into politics. She is committed to ending pay-to-play politics, sweetheart deals and no-bid contracts in Harrisburg. She further expects to continue to work with both Republicans and Democrats to reform campaign finance laws in Pennsylvania, ban gifts to legislators and enact an Adult Protective Services Law. Susan is concerned about the environmental and economic impact of the development of the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania and supports strong regulations to protect our people, the environment, and the public land.

Rzucidlo is the only Democrat to announce a challenge against an incumbent Republican member of the state House or Senate from Chester County so far this cycle. The only other Democratic state House candidates are from the new 45th district, which has no incumbent but is expected to trend Democratic. Those candidates are Caln Township Commissioner Josh Young and residential developer Barry Cassidy of Downingtown.

According to the Daily Local News, all of those mentioned incumbent Republicans that represent some part of Chester County in Harrisburg will seek reelection, with one exception.

E. Fallowfield Township Supervisor Chris Amentas (photo courtesy of Armstrong & Carosella, PC)

As per Eric Smith of the Daily Local News, the Chairman of the East Fallowfield Township Board of Supervisors has thrown his name into the hat for the Republican nomination to face incumbent Democratic state Senator Andy Dinniman in the fall.

Republican Chris Amentas, 36, will challenge incumbent Democrat Andy Dinniman, of West Whiteland. Thus far, no other Republicans have announced they will run for that seat. Dinniman has held the seat since 2006.

Amentas said he is running for office because he believes many people do not have confidence in the economy, their real-estate values or the job market and he wants to make fiscal responsibility a priority.

Amentas is a graduate of Boston College and Villanova Law. In addition to serving as a supervisor of East Fallowfield Township, he works at a law firm called Armstrong and Carosella, located near Route 202′s Matlack Street exit.

More from the DLN:

“My experience in private business and public office has been that there are always ways to save money,” Amentas said. “There is always financial waste in every type of organization just to varying degrees.”

Amentas said he believes Dinniman has not been as focused on cutting government waste as he should have been during his tenure.

Dinniman, who represents the 19th Senate district, has served since 2006. His newly-redrawn territory now includes most of southern Chester County, as well as the Route 30 corridor of Parkesburg, Coatesville, Downingtown, Exton, Frazer, and Malvern. He will seek re-election for a second time in 2012, after originally winning the seat in a special election and then defending it in 2008.

Last week, the maps were finally revealed, and as it turned out, Trivedi’s home in Union Township of Berks County ended up just barely inside Pat Meehan’s 7th district, while the bordering borough of Birdsboro remained in Gerlach’s 6th. Despite this, the Trivedi campaign released today a statement reiterating Manan’s intentions of challenging Gerlach:

“The only thing that can compare to the ongoing assault on fairness by Republicans in Washington is what Republicans in Harrisburg did with the Pennsylvania redistricting process. Partisan politics won out in the end. Even my home county of Berks with a population of just over 400,00 got split into four congressional districts. Republican politicians are breaking the public’s trust by breaking apart our community.”

You can read the rest of the statement here. Contrary to some other states, congressional candidates are not required to run in the district in which they live in Pennsylvania, although doing so can prove to be an easy attack from opponents in a campaign.

Trivedi’s path to Congress hasn’t gotten any easier than the 2010 cycle. His base of Reading has been mostly moved into Joe Pitts’ 16th district, and Gerlach has picked up areas as far west as Lebanon County, which have made his territory more Republican. Democratic stronghold Coatesville, also previously of the 6th district, has been moved to the 16th as well. However, Trivedi did get one stroke of good luck when the 6th district picked up the borough of West Chester.

As far as state-wide elections go, the U.S. Senate race in Pennsylvania will be the most hotly contested besides that of the presidency. Incumbent Democrat Bob Casey will seek to retain his seat for a second term, after taking out Rick Santorum (now a presidential candidate) in 2006. But Casey will have plenty of Republicans gunning for his job.

No less than nine candidates are currently in the Senate race, down from ten after former Army Col. John Vernon ended his campaign earlier this week. One such candidate hails from Chester County in businessman Steve Welch.

A Malvern resident, Welch grew up in Chester County and continues to live here, working as a mechanical engineer and entrepreneur. While he will face many competitors for the Republican nomination, he has held his own in recent debates and his fundraising numbers have been strong.

Other candidates for that office include businessmen Tom Smith and David Christian, Tea Party activist Laureen Cummings, pharmacist John Kensinger, former congressional candidate Tim Burns, former state representative Sam Rohrer, attorney Marc Scaringi, and Iraq War veteran Robert Mansfield. While Welch is the only candidate from Chester County, Rohrer is from nearby Berks and Christian resides in Bucks County.

The Senate won’t be the only state-wide race next year, though. Attorney General will also be a highly-coveted job, and several candidates have come out on both sides looking to replace Linda Kelly, the interim AG who filled in for Tom Corbett when he became governor.

On the Republican side, two candidates have announced serious bids for the post. State senator John Rafferty (R-44th), who represents much of northern Chester County, looks to have the inside track for his party’s nomination. Running against Rafferty will be Cumberland County District Attorney Dave Freed.

Likewise, two Democrats have announced their bids for the office. Former U.S. congressman Patrick Murphy of Bucks County is expected to strongly contend, but he will face stiff competition for the Democratic nomination from former Philadelphia Assistant District Attorney Dan McCaffery.

Auditor General is another job that will be hotly contested. Republican Ann Duke, who currently serves as Treasurer of Chester County, has announced her candidacy. Also in the mix is state representative John Maher of Allegheny County.

On the Democratic side, Eugene DePasquale of York County was first to reveal his intentions to run. He has already racked up several key endorsements, including that of 2010 gubernatorial candidate Dan Onorato. DePasquale will go up against fomrer Delaware County Assistant D.A. Jack Stollsteimer.

At the congressional level, the picture is not quite as clear as of yet. What is certain is that Joe Pitts (R-16th), Jim Gerlach (R-6th), and Pat Meehan (R-7th) will all seek reelection, and their chances have seemingly improved after the new district maps were released a few days ago.

The field is much less clear on the Democratic side. It appears that Manan Trivedi, the 2010 Democratic candidate in the 6th district, will challenge Gerlach for a second time. Meanwhile, several reports have begun to trickle out stating that Joe Sestak, former congressman from the 7th district who failed in a 2010 Senate bid, could enter the race to regain his congressional seat in what would become a huge battle with Meehan.

Stollsteimer was also mulling a run against Meehan in the 7th district, but opted to run for Auditor General. Meanwhile, no known candidates have announced a Democratic candidacy in the 16th district against Pitts.

Not much has happened on the state Senate front, although there will be an open seat in the 44th district as Rafferty seeks the Attorney General job. Meanwhile, Andy Dinniman (D-19th), Edwin Erickson (R-26th) and Dominic Pileggi (R-9th) are expected to seek reelection. Democrat Tom Houghton was planning a challenge of Pileggi, but his residence was re-drawn out of the 9th district after redistricting.

The state House races are a bit more clear, but not by much. The newly-created 45th district has already seen two candidacies announced in Caln Commissioner Josh Young and real estate developer Barry Cassidy. That seat has not seen any Republican candidates as of yet.

The rest of the state House seats are currently held by Republicans. John Lawrence (R-13th), Tim Hennessey (R-26th), Curt Schroder (R-155th), Dan Truitt (R-156th), Warren Kampf (R-157th), Chris Ross (R-158th), Steven Barrar (R-160th), Duane Milne (R-167th), and Tom Killion (R-168th) make up the Chester County contingent in the House. Most of them are expected to seek reelection, although Schroder has announced that he will not seek another term. These races are expected to become more clear now that the dust has settled on legislative redistricting for 2012.

That’s the current state of affairs for the 2012 elections. With only four months to go until the primaries, it won’t be long before more candidates announce their intentions, and we’ll have all the coverage here at Chester County Politics.