Republican U.S. Senate candidate Tom Smith is using that cash advantage to try to distance himself from his GOP rivals -- he was the first of the (now eight?) candidates in the race on air, and now he's back with another on the "Obama-Casey" national debt.

Fellow candidate Steve Welch, meanwhile, has released a new web video on Obama.

The party's state committee meetings -- featuring an endorsement in the race -- are the weekend of Jan. 27-28.

Get ready, Fox News viewers: conservative group Club For Growth is launching another set of Pittsburgh-area commercials hammering "liberal congressman" Tim Murphy.

The group first started airing spots around New Year criticizing the Upper St. Clair Republican on earmarks and union legislation, and the latest ads start running Saturday. (One is above and the other is here.) From a press release:

Washington, DC – In Pennsylvania’s Eighteenth Congressional District, the Club for Growth PAC is launching two more 15 second advertisements aimed at encouraging the constituents of Republican Congressman Tim Murphy to ask themselves the following question: “Why’d he do that?” Tim Murphy’s record certainly might leave some Pennsylvania Republicans asking themselves the same questions. Tim Murphy has supported the expansion of government-run health care, raised taxes, and opened the door for health benefits for illegal immigrants. Tim Murphy also encouraged Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to make larger loans, and then he voted to bail them out. The new ads are scheduled to start running tomorrow throughout Pennsylvania’s Eighteenth Congressional District.

Fellow Republican Evan Feinberg is courting the right wing of the party in his run against Murphy in the primary. The Club For Growth said again in its statement today that it "has not made an endorsement" in the race.

County exec Rich Fitzgerald has released a full statement on the latest reassessment delay, saying he "will not interfere" with court-ordered work by county staff, but will be marshalling efforts to help residents with appeals to lobby Harrisburg for changes.

"That being said, I still think this process is wrong. I think that the judge overstepped his bounds, and I think that we have to continue to fight this fight," he stated.

It's in full after the jump:

Our colleague Tom Barnes has this update on the latest tumult from the state attorney general's race, which on the GOP side, appears to be over before it ever really began: 

Cumberland County District Attorney David Freed's odds of becoming the next state attorney general have improved dramatically now that his only Republican challenger has suspended his campaign.

State Sen. John Rafferty of Montgomery County announced he's ending his race in the GOP primary in April, saying Gov. Tom Corbett, a Republican from Shaler, is ready to endorse Mr. Freed.

Mr. Freed is the son-in-law of former state Attorney General Leroy Zimmerman, a political ally of Mr. Corbett. The governor met with both candidates recently and hasn't officially made an endorsement. But Mr. Rafferty said Mr. Corbett "has communicated to me" that he will back Mr. Freed, 41.

Since the attorney general became an elected office in 1980, no Democrat has won, so if Mr. Freed remains the only GOP candidate, his chances of winning are substantial.

He also notes that three Democrats are seeking their party's nomination in the April primary: U.S. Rep.Patrick Murphy of Bucks County; Philadelphia lawyer and former prosecutor Dan McCaffery; and Kathleen Kane, a former prosecutor in Lackawanna County. He continues:

Mr. Murphy's campaign got a jolt Wednesday when the Associated Press disclosed he never took the bar exam in Pennsylvania and has never tried a case in this state. He did pass the bar exam in Minnesota after completing law school in Harrisburg in 1999.

That revelation comes as state Democrats are set to meet in State College this weekend to consider whether to endorse a candidate in the race. 

Perhaps to redirect those headlines, Team Murphy issued a news release this afternoon announcing a poll they commissioned that shows Murphy leading his competitors by double digits:

"Iraq war veteran and former prosecutor Patrick Murphy holds a commanding lead over his two Democratic primary opponents. In a poll conducted this week byGlobal Strategy Group, Murphy leads his closest challenger Kathleen Kane, 36% to 15%. Dan McCaffery finishes a distant third with 8%," according to the Murphy release.