Kathleen Kane's star may be fading for Democrats
Blunt statements by Philadelphia's most powerful Democrat may signal trouble for Kathleen Kane, even as other Democrats publicly are noncommittal about their support for the embattled attorney general, political analysts say.
Two years into her term as the first woman and Democrat elected attorney general, Kane took the unusual step of announcing her re-election bid two weeks ago while awaiting the outcome of a statewide grand jury investigation into whether she leaked information about a man never charged with a crime in order to embarrass a prosecutor with whom she is feuding.
Recent critical comments from U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, chairman of the Philadelphia Democratic Committee and the state's senior congressman, and in the spring from Gov.-elect Tom Wolf "show significant erosion of confidence in the attorney general among Democrats and may be a harbinger of even more critical treatment from within her party," said Christopher Borick, a political science professor at Muhlenberg College in Allentown.
"If Democrats feel she is beyond the point of a comeback, they will increasingly distance themselves from Kane and start to look at alternatives in the 2016 primary," Borick said. "She is at that tipping point now, if not already past the point of no return."
Kane's aides did not respond to inquiries.
Her remarks insisting that she'll run for a second term, voiced while attending The Pennsylvania Society's annual weekend in Manhattan, were made a few days before a Philadelphia grand jury and District Attorney Seth Williams blasted her for not prosecuting several Democrats accused of bribery.
Williams charged two state lawmakers with accepting cash from an informant. Former Traffic Court Judge Thomasine Tynes pleaded guilty last week to accepting a $2,000 bracelet from the informant. Williams said the investigation continues.
Kane had declined to prosecute the case, citing legal flaws.
"Having been an attorney for 24 years, no two attorneys ever see the same set of facts in an identical fashion," Pennsylvania Democratic Party Chairman Jim Burn said. "This situation will play out in the courts."
But Brady, who could not be reached, told The Philadelphia Inquirer last week that Williams' decision on the so-called "sting case" appeared to show Kane was "asleep at the switch."
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Kathleen Kane's star may be fading for Democrats