Two new ads are up in the GOP US Senate race, one from a SuperPAC hitting Armstrong County candidate Tom Smith for his past registration as a Democrat and another from Smith hitting foe Steve Welch for his own ties to the other party. Keegan Gibson at PoliticsPa has the details.

With the PA12 race reportedly tightening and organized labor vowing a massive drive to topple him next week, McCandless Democrat Jason Altmire  launched a new attack ad on fellow incumbent Mark Critz regarding Altmire's vote on a balanced budget amendment (BBA) and its politically-charged connection to entitlements for seniors.

Altmire's decision to join 25 other Democrats in November and support a Republican plan to amend the constitution and require balanced budgets has been an issue in the Democratic primary race since the beginning. Critz and his backers in labor and anti-Social Security privatization groups have complained the BBA would lead to entitlement cuts, which they emphasized when Critz got the endorsement of fellow BBA critic Bill Clinton last week. Altmire has consistently countered that balancing federal budgets would rather save the programs, and Critz's opposition would endanger them. "It's critically important we balance the budget so we have the money in the federal budget" to pay for the programs, Altmire said during a televised debate last week.

The ad launched yesterday repeats that line of defense/offense. "It's sad Mark Critz would try to scare people into thinking that I'd hurt seniors," Altmire says, looking into the camera." I supported the balanced budget to stop the reckless spending that threatens the future of Social Security and Medicare." A voiceover follows saying, "Johstown congressman Mark Critz won't make the tough choices like balancing the budget, which is the only way to protect Medicare and Social Security. Critz's political games won't help seniors, but Jason Altmire's hard work will."

The Critz campaign responded by noting that the "scare" line is the same kind of defense used by past GOP proponents of balanced budget amendments, including George W. Bush and former PA4 Republican congresswoman Melissa Hart.

"We already knew that Jason Altmire put Medicare at risk by voting for the Republican Balanced Budget Amendment, but now he has the audacity to defend his indefensible vote by parroting Republican talking points," Critz spokesman Mike Mikus said in a statment. "Jason Altmire is slipping in the polls because voters know that he endangered our economy, Social Security and Medicare when he voted for the Republican Balanced Budget Amendment."

Altmire ad above and full Critz statement after the jump:

An anti-incumbency group has dropped its challenge to US Rep Tim Murphy, faulting GOP challenger Evan Feinberg's minimal fundraising in the race.

Feinberg was counting on the Campaign for Primary Responsibility's $200,000 in anti-Murphy advertising to help him beat the incumbent -- just as the group helped a congressional challenger in Cincinnati -- but the Houston-based group pulled the plug today and will reallocate the funds to more competitive primary races.

On the heels of Mitt Romney, fellow GOP presidential hopeful (and Dormont native) Ron Paul is coming to Pittsburgh Friday for a fundraiser and town hall meeting at Pitt.

The $350 fundraiser/luncheon is at the Holiday Inn in Oakland and the 1-hour town hall at the Soldiers & Sailors memorial hall kicks off at 7 p.m. Admission is free but Paul supporters can get advance seating by making reservations here. He has a rally at the Independence Mall in Philadelphia Sunday.

The 76-year-old has no chance of beating Romney, but he's been picking up some of the protest vote within the Republican party and some of its delegates: there are Paul supporters across Pennsylvania on GOP delegate ballots next week, but since they are uncommitted in Pa, Paul's name will not appear next to their names. Then there's his continued appeal to students at Pitt and elsewhere.

From the Christian Science Monitor on Monday:

This emphasis on youth points out one of Paul’s remaining electoral strengths – he’s relatively strong in the 18-to-34 demographic, while presumptive nominee Mr. Romney is relatively weak. A Gallup poll from April 12 shows them about tied in that sub-group, though Romney leads comfortably among GOP voters overall.

This could give Paul some leverage in regard to speaking spots and platform planks leading into the GOP National Convention in Tampa.

“Romney has a significant problem among younger Republican voters ... Romney’s challenge is to capture some of the enthusiasm young Republican voters have for Paul in an attempt to blunt Obama’s strength among this group,” wrote Gallup editor-in-chief Frank Newport last week.