Almone Publicly Neutral, Privately Backing Dennings In POG Senate Race

POG governor officially not endorsing any candidates in CNS primary


LANSDALE--Despite publicly declaring she would stay neutral in the Conservative Senate primary, POG Governor Donna Almone is privately backing Congresswoman Julie Dennings (C-Westmont), sources close to the governor say.

Dennings is the only woman running in the crowded Conservative field, which, at one time had seven candidates. Yesterday, however, Assembly Majority Leader Mark Rolen (C-Tay Hills) dropped out of the race, following Rep. Tanner Zannie (C-Black Forest), who threw his support to close friend Rep. Reuben Stykes (C-Wyneok) after he dropped out. Rolen did not endorse any of his fellow candidates.

Dennings, who was elected to the Assembly last year in a special election, is considered a rising star in the CNS Party, but her campaign has struggled to gain traction in a state that is generally friendly to Conservative women. Although pundits speculated her late entry into the race would likely clear the field, Dennings has only won a handful of counties in the delegate race, and has never been in first place. She has remained in the top three throughout the race, however, and currently stands in second place with 396 delegates, behind Rep. Bobby Hafen Jr. (C-Elridge), who has 413 delegates. Congressman Stykes is in third with 394, after getting out to an early lead at the beginning of the race.

Still, despite her less-than-impressive showing so far in the delegate race, sources close to Donna Almone say the governor is "fully behind" Dennings, and is privately advising her.

"The two have talked on the phone regularly, discussing the race and where to campaign and what to campaign on," said one aide to the governor, who asked not to be identified.

A spokesman for Almone reiterated Thursday that "Governor Almone is committed to staying neutral in this race," and will not endorse until the primary season is over.

"Governor Almone believes all five Conservative candidates running for the Senate are good, strong conservatives," spokesman Jared Holtzclaw told the NPF.

Another source from the Dennings campaign, who also asked to remain anonymous, told the GBC that Dennings has already asked Almone for a post-primary endorsement, and has requested the relatively popular governor campaign for her, should she win the CNS nomination.

Julie Dennings' campaign did not respond to questions from GNN regarding the matter.