By rssfeeds-admin 
A GOP-backed PAC campaign mailer that landed in Pennsylvania’s Senate District 16 mailboxes on April 24 aims to confuse and manipulate voters about candidates running in the upcoming Democratic primary.
Will more of these smear-tactics flood voters’ mailboxes and television viewing in the run up to the May primaries – and beyond?
The election propaganda seeks to discredit Democrat Bradley Merkl-Gump. Merkl-Gump is a Pennridge School Board director and teacher running in the May primary against Lehigh County Controller Mark Pinsley for a shot to unseat incumbent Republican Jarett Coleman to represent SD-16 in Harrisburg.
The mailer calls out Merkl-Gump as “the pick of the party bosses” in an attempt to discredit him – while trying to mask the GOP message with the closing line, “Sounds like something Donald Trump would do.”
“Republicans and special interests have begun dumping money to attack Bradley Merkl-Gump in the SD-16 primary because he is the best candidate to take down Jarrett Coleman,” said Joe Cepparulo, a Bedminster Township resident and concerned Pennridge School District voter.
Republicans hold a four seat majority in Pennsylvania’s State Senate. The upcoming senate race is seen as a “bellwether” to November’s mid-term elections, where the stakes also ride high for control of the state and federal House of Representatives.
“It appears they would rather face Mark Pinsley in November than Bradley, an eighth grade civics teacher who defeated MAGA extremists in a red district. Bradley has the winning formula – being a champion of public education with a focus on driving down costs,” Cepparulo said.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee issued a press release revealing incumbent Republican Brian Fitzpatrick similalrly is also targeting Democratic challenger and Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie with a tactic known as “meddle ads.” The approach is to try and knock-out the perceived strongest candidate in the primary field to increase their opponents election chances in November’s general election, Politics PA reported.
“It’s just the latest sign that even [Brian] Fitzpatrick knows he’s facing the toughest race of his political career, and that after nearly a decade in Washington he can’t defend his own record,” Eli Cousin, a spokesperson for DCCC said in an email.
The Pennsylvania Senate race campaign mailer does not name Coleman. Instead it attempted to smear Merkl-Gump after a Bucks County Democratic Party straw poll, which sought to limit the number of May primary candidates, failed.
The recent PAC ad was paid for Protecting our Democracy, an organization registered with the State Campaign Finance Office on April 15. The late registration means reporting about its financial stakes and leadership won’t be available until after the May primary.
Protecting our Democracy is chaired by Joseph Calla in Harrisburg. Calla owns Capital Vending Co., a firm opposed to government regulation of skill games in the commonwealth.
March on Harrisburg reported skill games, which are found in gas fueling stations, social clubs like VFW halls, bars and some other businesses, are not taxed or regulated in Pennsylvania.
“Republicans and special interests have begun dumping money to attack Bradley Merkl-Gump in the SD-16 primary because he is the best candidate to take down Jarrett Coleman.” – Bedminster Township Democrat Joe Cepparulo
Significant donations to political campaigns, including Coleman’s, to candidates seen as friendly to the industry have been widely reported, including by March on Harrisburg, a nonpartisan advocacy organization.
March on Harrisburg supports a state gift ban to politicians to influence lawmakers, automate the voter registration process and tamp down financial pressure and influences on political candidates and leaders.
As of 2025, the group reported some $1.7 billion had been spent on industry-friendly political candidates to influence state lawmakers’ decisions.
Pennsylvania Republicans – and others in the skill game industry – seek to re-elect Coleman.
According to a report, Calla has so far donated as much as $157,000 Skill Games Industry PAC. Calla is a donor to Coleman’s re-election campaign.
Skills game changes and regulations are being proposed in Harrisburg, ABC 27 News reported.
The “party boss” allegations stem from a January pre-primary “straw poll,” which typically involves a small group of people in politics or media outlets – to determine early support for candidates.
Straw polls are not new, nor uncommon. They are non-binding, political efforts to gauge the popularity and electability of prospective candidates.
Straw polls are intended to help fuel a candidate’s campaign. The Democrats’ failed straw poll in January drew ire, and has backfired against both the Bucks County Democratic and Lehigh County Democratic committees.
“The straw poll was an effort to gauge whether committee people would coalesce behind a single candidate,” explained Zach Kirk, executive director Bucks County Democratic Committee in an email.
Kirk said the event was held as a virtual platform with three candidates running at the time in the May primary.
“The forum allowed committee people to ask each candidate questions, and it was a good discussion of the issues. In the end, while Bradley Merkl-Gump won the straw poll overwhelmingly, the other candidates decided to continue with their candidacies. Mark Pinsley was not involved because he was running for Congress at that time,” Kirk said.
Both Merkl-Gump and Pinsley remain on the May primary ballot. SD-16 is made up of portions of Upper Bucks and Lehigh counties. A map of the district may be found here.
Census Reporter described the Pennsylvania Senatorial District as a mix of suburban and rural areas comprising 548.6 square miles with a population of roughly 268,000.
The outcome of this race could be help decide control of the Pennsylvania state Senate.
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