Lorain Borough is facing a problem shared by many – if not most – communities in Cambria and Somerset counties: Elected offices that have no candidates.
Voters in the Lorain primary May 19 will have no one to pick as nominees for mayor or for two council seats.

Twelve Johnstown residents have entered the race for five City Council seats – including the mayor’s chair – available in this year’s elections.
But in the May 19 primary, the four Republican candidates can rest easy: The only competitive races are on the Democratic ballot.

One of six candidates for two seats on the court of common pleas.

One of six candidates for two seats on the court of common pleas.

One of six candidates for two seats on the court of common pleas.

One of six candidates for two seats on the court of common pleas.

One of six candidates for two seats on the court of common pleas.

One of six candidates for two seats on the court of common pleas.

Six Cambria County lawyers, vying for two open county judgeships, on Friday emphasized their legal experience and pledged to be fair in decisions. The six spoke during a breakfast meeting of the Greater Johnstown/ Cambria County Chamber of Commerce.

Many Pennsylvania Democrats who wanted Hillary Clinton to represent their party in Tuesday’s presidential election were won over by Barack Obama, an exit poll by The Associated Press found.

Each in his own way, John McCain and Barack Obama have produced enduring myths, amplified by their running mates and supporters. When a non-licensed plumber who owes back taxes and would get a tax cut under Obama is held out by McCain as a stand-in for average working Americans who should vote Republican, you know truth-telling is taking a back seat to myth-making.

Bad judgment. Not ready. Too extreme. Too dangerous. Can’t be trusted.
Between accusations of being wealthy and owning a Lear jet, to dredging up past misdemeanors and attendance at local government meetings, nothing is sacred in the 72nd district.

In the hours before Election Day, as inevitable as winter, comes an onslaught of dirty tricks – confusing e-mails, disturbing phone calls and insinuating fliers left on doorsteps during the night.

At the Onion – “America’s finest news source,” as it calls itself – this change in the Oval Office is a welcome opportunity for new material.

Americans will elect not only a president on Tuesday, but also his huge team of aides, advisers and bureaucrats who will help the winner run the federal government for the next four years.

Meanwhile, former President Bill Clinton will campaign Monday for Democrats in Erie, Johnstown and Wilkes-Barre.

Local business leaders rallied behind U.S. Rep. John Murtha, D-Johnstown, on Sunday in response to recent statements made by his opponent about local workers’ skills and qualifications.

Are Barack Obama and John McCain ready for some football?
ESPN says the presidential candidates are planning to participate in one-on-one interviews via satellite that would air at halftime of “Monday Night Football,” the day before the election.

A McCain campaign volunteer accused of making up a story about being assaulted in Pittsburgh by a man who disliked her McCain bumper sticker will enter a program for first-time offenders.

Retired steelworker Claude Cunningham strides into the John McCain campaign office on Main Street and asks for yard signs.
“I don’t know if anybody around here will vote for Obama or not. But I know the answer won’t be me,” he says, chuckling while loading up his burly arms. “He’s a joke.”
Down the block, a former co-worker, John Franklin, scans his list of registered voters, punches in a phone number, then says softly, “Hello, I’m a volunteer at the Barack Obama for president headquarters in Middletown.”
During a break between calls, Franklin, a 30-year steel mill worker who took early retirement during a lengthy lockout, explains: “It’s the economy. We need a change from this.”

After weeks of being out-advertised by Barack Obama, John McCain and the Republican Party are nearly matching the Democrat ad for ad in key battleground markets.

Their sense of urgency growing as the clock runs down, Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain are spending their time – and their money – trying to win over the same voters in those few states still too close to call.
Obama was targeting Florida, Virginia and Missouri on Thursday while McCain was taking the fight to Defiance, Ohio, in a quest to tilt that swing state his way.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama was less than upfront in his half-hour commercial Wednesday night about the costs of his programs and the crushing budget pressures he would face in office.

While Democrat Bryan Barbin and Republican Jim Rigby come from different backgrounds, they share a common goal: Bring jobs back to the state House’s 71st Legislative District.
The men are vying to replace retiring state Rep. Ed Wojnaroski in a 14-municipality district that includes the financially distressed city of Johnstown.

A former employee of an affiliate of the community-activist group ACORN testified in a courtroom today that her group used Barack Obama’s campaign donor list to solicit contributions.

Republican presidential candidate John McCain said Tuesday that Republican Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska has “broken his trust with the people” and should resign now that he has been convicted in a federal corruption case.

Joe the Plumber endorsed Republican John McCain for president on Tuesday.

Two white supremacists allegedly plotted to go on a national killing spree, shooting and decapitating black people and ultimately targeting Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, federal authorities said Monday.

Republican John McCain and running mate Sarah Palin were reuniting Tuesday to rally the faithful in largely conservative areas of this swing state he hopes to win in next week’s presidential election.

Barack Obama says there’s no red America or blue America, just one big united country. But not when it comes to getting elected.
Gunning for the 270 electoral votes the Democrat needs to win the White House, Obama is almost exclusively targeting tossup red states, the label for the ones that trend Republican. Any one of them might tip him to victory. Combined, they could give him a dominant win.

The Anchorage Daily News, Alaska’s largest newspaper, endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama Sunday after declaring Gov. Sarah Palin “too risky” to be one step away from the Oval Office.

There’s always talk about the impact young voters could have in choosing the next president. But this truly could be a breakout year for them.

Republican John McCain increasingly is focusing his campaign’s message on an institution that may be even less popular than President Bush and one he’s been a part of most of his adult life: Congress.

Looking ahead to closing his case against John McCain in Ohio, Barack Obama argues that voters there have a chance to reject “politics that would divide a nation just to win an election.”

Democrat Barack Obama is bouncing from one patch of Republican turf to another this week.
Virginia is his stomping grounds on Wednesday, as he continues his assault on Republican John McCain’s economic proposals while also introducing national security differences into the final-stretch mix.

A suburban Philadelphia man is charged with changing 18 voter registration applications while he worked briefly for ACORN — the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.

New Hampshire launched John McCain’s two presidential campaigns, and now he’s hoping it doesn’t end his bid for the White House.

Republican Sarah Palin told a rally of several thousand people Monday that Barack Obama would not only raise their taxes as president but also spend the money in a way that could hurt the economy.
“What that means is government taking your money and spreading it out wherever politicians see fit. That’s not good for the economy,” she said.

The state Senate 35th District race has focused on the value of experience.
State Sen. John Wozniak, D-Westmont, says his knowledge and political influence from 28 years in Harrisburg helps him improve the lives for those across the region.
Republican challenger Joseph Veranese of Upper Yoder Township says Wozniak has been in Harrisburg too long and has lost touch with those he serves.

Evoking “Joe the Plumber” near his hometown in this pivotal state, Republican John McCain on Sunday cast himself as the guardian of middle-class workers and small-business owners who fuel the economy.

Colin Powell, a Republican and retired general who was President Bush’s first secretary of state, broke with the party Sunday and endorsed Democrat Barack Obama for president, calling him a “transformational figure” while criticizing the tone of John McCain’s campaign.

Colin Powell will have a role as a top presidential adviser in an Obama administration, the Democratic White House hopeful said Monday.

Voters in the district now represented by retiring state Rep. Tom Yewcic will have the chance to choose between two candidates who offer different styles and substance.
Republican Chris Voccio, facing an uphill battle in an overwhelmingly Democratic district, has an aggressive style.
Democrat Frank Burns, with strong local and party ties, has the affable and optimistic style of a young man with politics in his blood.

Republican presidential nominee John McCain and his wife, Cindy, will be in Pennsylvania to campaign early this week.

Joe the Plumber said Thursday he doesn’t have a license and doesn’t need one.

The political battle for Pennsylvania continues this week with three campaign events in the next few days.

The debate season that has chewed up its moderators comes to a close Wednesday when John McCain and Barack Obama meet for the third time, with CBS News’ Bob Schieffer directing the discussion.
The veteran “Face the Nation” host won’t telegraph what he will ask. But he said he will be seeking more details about their potential presidencies than have been evident so far.

The fragility of the U.S. economy just eight years after her husband left the nation in sound fiscal shape is heartbreaking, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday.
Clinton, stumping for a second straight day in Pennsylvania for former Democratic rival Barack Obama, said President Bush’s policies do not help average households.

Republican John McCain pledged to fight for a new direction for the country in an energetic new campaign stump speech Monday that sought to distance him from the economic policies of President Bush.

Four surviving members of the iconic rock band the Grateful Dead gathered Monday night for a rare gig as part of what the Obama campaign billed the “Change Rocks Concert.”

Democratic State Sen. John Wozniak, 52, and Republican challenger Joe Veranese, 37, outline their views on issues during interviews with members of The Tribune-Democrat editorial board.
The two face off Nov. 4 for election to a four year term representing the 35th Senate District, which includes all of Cambria and Clinton counties, plus parts of Somerset, Centre and Clearfield counties.

Barack Obama acknowledged Saturday that John McCain has asked his supporters to temper their attacks on him. But the Democratic presidential nominee said the Republican’s economic plans remain wrong for the country.