(Crossposted on the Forward Together PAC blog. I work for Gov. Mark Warner's Forward Together PAC.)

Yesterday was a busy day in and around Philadelphia where the Governor was supporting three congressional candidates.  Patrick Murphy, Joe Sestak, and Lois Murphy, all separated by only a few miles in the Philly suburbs, represent 1/5 of the seats that Democrats need to win in order to take back the House come November.  

The netroots was well represented at the first event with bloggers Atrios, Susie Madrak, Alex Urevick-Ackelsberg, and BooMan from BooMan Tribune all attending.

Patrick Murphy, who was Capt. Murphy during his tour in Baghdad with the 82nd Airborne, spoke passionately and enthusiastically about the different ways he felt this administration and this Congress had failed the American people.  As Martin Longman from BooMan Tribune described today:

BooMan also wrote of Governor Warner:

In between events I had the chance to meet up with an old friend, Ryan Matthews, a classmate of mine at GW who now works as a field coordinator for Joe Sestak as he works to unseat Curt Weldon.  I joined him as he headed out to meet with volunteers to do visibility stop where I joined Sestak volunteers Cheryl Morrell from Springfield and Maggie Wright from Marple Township on a street corner as they worked to raise Joe Sestak's name ID the old fashioned (but still one of the most effective) ways.  Every car that honked was one vote closer to a new congressman for Pennsylvania's 5th district.  

That evening I got a chance to hear Retired Admiral Sestak speak when he joined Governor Warner in front of a crowd that included MyDD blogger Chris Bowers.  The admiral was a forceful and impressive speaker as he described the experiences that had compelled him to run for congress; including the challenge of leading a Carrier Battle Group comprised of over 30 ships and 15,000 people into battle, his daughter's struggle with a malignant brain tumor, and the horror he felt as he watched another family, who was not lucky enough to have health insurance, stood helpless as social workers debated if their leukemia stricken child should be treated.  My favorite line was "Every Navy officer is a Democrat, they just don't know it yet because the Navy believes in investing in people."  As the son of a Navy Officer I found myself nodding and hoping that the people of the 5th District would send this great leader to Congress.

Our final stop of the night was to meet future Congresswoman Lois Murphy where over 100 people had gathered.  The latest poll shows Murphy with a small lead over her opponent Jim Gerlach.  Two years ago, when she challenged Gerlach for the first time, she was down 19 points at this point, causing many around the country to declare this seat a great pickup opportunity for Democrats.  Governor Warner continues his travels to support the next Governor of Ohio, Ted Strickland and his running mate Lee Fisher, and then finishes his trip with a stop in Michigan supporting fellow-Governor Jennifer Granholm.