Steve Welch's GOP U.S. Senate campaign is going negative against fellow candidate Tom Smith, reminding Republican voters of the Armstrong County man's longtime registration in the Democratic party.

Smith was a Democrat for decades and didn't register as a Republican until 2011, but has argued to voters that he is "lifelong conservative" who was also a tea party leader. Welch, too, was a briefly a Democrat and supported former U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak in 2006 and Barack Obama in the 2008 primary.

The script of the Welch ad is:

VoiceOver: We’ve all seen terrible Elvis impersonators. Now meet Tom Smith, the worst Republican impersonator of all time. Smith was a registered Democrat for 42 years — That’s longer than Obama. Smith has personally bankrolled liberal Democratic candidates and as a Democratic elected official Smith voted to raise taxes — 9 times.

Conservative Steve Welch for Senate, endorsed by the Republican Party of Pennsylvania and Tom Corbett.

Steve Welch: I’m Steve Welch and I approve this message.

Welch's team also launched a website this week called therealtomsmith.com that mocks him as a "lifelong Democrat."

Welch, a Chester County businessman, is the pick by Gov. Tom Corbett and the state's GOP committee to take on U.S. Sen. Bob Casey this year.

Meanwhile fellow candidate Sam Rohrer has announced support from an array of tea party groups statewide. Said the campaign:

The Pennsylvania Grassroots and Conservative Coalition is a group of nearly 30 civically-engaged, active and independent groups throughout the state of Pennsylvania.  The endorsement of Rohrer comes after a straw polling within the Coalition’s groups to voluntarily support Sam Rohrer as the Republican Party U.S. Senate Candidate.  Only candidates that received the polling of at least 65% of the participating groups won the unity of the coalition.

Full release from the Rohrer camp after the jump:

Good morning.

Democrats Jason Altmire and Mark Critz had their first of two debates last night, and the Johnstown Tribune-Democrat and Keegan Gibson of PoliticsPa was there to see them square off on their socially conservative credentials.

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl used to blow off complaints about South Side quality of life complaints but now he's backing a $100,000 improvements study. He faces reelection next year, Joe Smydo reports.

The PA presidential primary takes off in earnest today with multiple events (see UPDATE) by Rick Santorum and one evening one by Mitt Romney. Their schedules are after the jump:

Democratic attorney general candidate Patrick Murphy sees opponent Kathleen Kane's endorsement from former president Bill Clinton, and raises them a top advisor to the current commander in chief.

The former Bucks County congressman added senior Obama campaign advisor David Axelrod to his list of supporters this afternoon following an event at a Philadelphia law firm. 

In a phone interview after his appearance, Axelrod said his trip was a showing of personal backing and that the president likely will not make formal endorsements during the primary.

But he did emphasize that Murphy, who was an early Obama backer, was an "extraordinarily talented" ally of the White House during his second term on Capitol Hill.

"Patrick has been a friend and supporter of President Obama," Axelrod said. "In the Congress he was really a go-to guy when we were trying to handle the war in Iraq responsibly. When we wanted to end the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy, Patrick took that on."

Murphy was the only Pennsylvania candidate to receive some political assistance from Team Obama during the quick trip, with Axelrod calling it an "exceptional case."

He declined to say whether others, like U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, may get some support this fall. Axelrod described Casey, who will be taking on one of the five Republican contenders, as "a stalwart" for Pennsylania: "He's got great values. He's another person for whom I have such high regard and the president does as well."

As for the president's own political battles, Axelrod said Pennsylvania will again be a key state in the general election, and that he expects a closer race than the 54-44 win they tallied in 2008. He touted the president's efforts toward boosting the sluggish economy and aiding the auto industry as policies aimed at helping the middle class to grow again.

He also said he expects to see the Republican primary here continue the patterns seen elsewhere, in which Romney's "super PAC wrecking crew" outspends the rest of the GOP field "four or five to one and then they muscle through with marginal victories." (That muscle can already be seen, with reports of the Romney campaign's $3 million ad buy here being called a "blitzkrieg.")

"I think they are desperate to end this race," he said, adding that the May primaries "will not be great for Romney."

Photo: AFP

This week features two debates between PA12 Democrats Jason Altmire and Mark Critz, one of which will be broadcast live in the Pittsburgh market.

The candidates square off first tonight at the Pitt-Johnstown campus at 7 p.m., in a forum being broadcast by WJAC-TV. At the same tomorrow tomorrow night they'll appear again on WPXI-TV in a private debate in the Channel 11 studios.