PA-07 Update

A few updates in the 7th Pennsylvania congressional district. Incumbent Republican congressman Curt Weldon is being invstigated by the FBI. There was an article in today's Inquirer, "Rep. Curt Weldon faces FBI investigation," by Kimberly Hefling and Lara Jakes Jordan (full text here). The first two paragraphs give the gist:

The FBI is investigating whether Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Pa., used his influence to secure lobbying and consulting contracts for his daughter, two people familiar with the inquiry said Saturday.

The inquiry focuses on lobbying contracts worth $1 million that Weldon's daughter, Karen Weldon, obtained from foreign clients and whether they were assisted by the congressman, they said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the confidentiality of the criminal investigation.

Were that not bad enough, one of those automated telephone polls shows Weldon trailing Democratic challenger, Joe Sestak, by more than 10 point. The details are in an article from the Delaware County Times, "New poll shows Sestak leading Weldon," by William Bender (10/13/2006, full text here). First two paragraphs:

An automated phone poll conducted this week shows Joseph Sestak running eight points ahead of U.S. Rep. Curt Weldon, with Democrats poised to form a majority in the House if current trends hold, a polling group announced Thursday.

Sestak is leading 52-44 in the 7th District, according to a poll released by Majority Watch -- a partnership between RT Strategies, a bipartisan polling firm, and Constituent Dynamics, a Seattle-based company specializing in automated polling technology.

I'm never quite comfortable with automated phone polls, but there have been other indications that the race is either close or tilting towards Sestak.