Labor Day is intermission, not start of political season

Pennsylvania’s statewide races have been running intensely for a long while.

Labor Day used to be the unofficial start to the fall election campaign.
Experts say that’s not really the case anymore.

Campaigns used to never hit the ground until after Labor Day, but all four statewide candidates have been running for more than a year.
Republican Pat Toomey announced his campaign in April – of 2009.
In contrast, most voters don’t start paying attention to state campaigns until the fall.

Democratic strategist Larry Ceisler says it will be at least another month before most Pennsylvanians start weighing their choices.

“Labor Day would be an early tune in for them. I think the way things are going, they may not tune into the governor’s race until two or three weeks out.”

More television advertising will increase the races’ visibility.
Toomey has been on the air for more than a month, and Democrat Joe Sestak and Republican Tom Corbett both started running ads last week.
Democrat Dan Onorato hasn’t bought any airtime yet.