It’s been 18 months since pa2010.com went online. Ten days later, a man named Arlen Specter switched parties, turning Pennsylvania’s political landscape on its head. In the weeks and months since, we’ve done our best here to turn this site into the state’s go-to destination for insiders and political junkies.

Because of you, and thanks to the hard work of our many contributors, I can proudly say we accomplished that. It’s because of your support and your passion for Pennsylvania politics that we built the state’s most influential audience. Along the way, we broke news, hosted hard-hitting commentary and provided a vehicle for readers to engage one another.

And even though we’re just weeks away from the finish line, I’m sorry to say that yours truly has to move on. I am moving to Washington to take a job as an assistant editor at POLITICO. This new endeavor starts now, meaning I can no longer devote my time and attention to being reporter, editor and publisher of pa2010.com.

I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t hurt a bit to walk away from this thing so close to the end. I’ve put my blood, sweat and tears into it. There are many things left unfinished, and I’ve never had the kind of relationship with an audience like the one I’ve enjoyed with all of you, a two-way conversation that was always enriching and never dull.

But when opportunity knocks, we must answer. And this is, quite simply, the best opportunity of my life. I am excited and privileged to be part of the POLITICO team.

And I am pleased to announce that pa2010.com will continue under the new ownership of Media Bureau, the digital media firm that has long handled our digital strategy. I’m excited to see what they can do with this fledgling business, which has a potent editorial model and huge business upside. The guys at Media Bureau understand the modern media landscape, and I’m confident they’ll do great things going into this Election Day and the next.

I want to thank all of you for helping make pa2010.com what it has become. Thanks to the readers who log on every day. Thanks to the people who comment on our stories and contribute to the rich conversation. Thanks to the sources who bring news to us first. Thanks to the campaigns and candidates who treat us like the news-leader we are. Thanks to the bloggers and op-ed contributors who share part of themselves with the world. Thanks to the hard-working intern and freelance reporters who keep the site fresh and full of breaking news. Thanks to the journalists who take our content to a larger audience—especially Harrisburg reporting-genius John Micek and aggregation-master Chris Lilik, who have been the site’s greatest friends.

Regardless of what happens on Election Day, I look forward to covering the results from my new home.

So long. Farewell. And thank you.

Holden raised about $206,000 during the third quarter of the year, according to his campaign finance report. Through September, he had spent almost $400,000 on TV. And he finished the period with about $528,000 in cash on hand.

The Democratic incumbent faces Republican Dave Argall in the central Pennsylvania district, in a race that’s currently No. 10 on the pa2010.com Congressional Power Rankings. Campaign finance reports are not due until Oct. 15, and Argall’s fundraising numbers had not yet been reported.

In a Monmouth University poll released Thursday, Meehan garners 49 percent of likely voters, compared to 45 percent for Lentz. Just seven percent of voters are undecided or prefer another candidate. The survey was the first public poll taken of the open-seat race in suburban Philadelphia, where Meehan, a former U.S. Attorney, and Lentz, a two-term state lawmaker, have been battling fiercely. Both campaigns have long expected a close race.

Despite Meehan’s lead, the results have to be heartening for Lentz and his supporters. He is outperforming the generic congressional ballot in the district, and is nipping at Meehan’s heels despite facing an opponent who was better-known from the start thanks to years as Delaware County District Attorney. Meehan’s lead is just outside the margin of error, and the poll did not include independent candidate Jim Schneller, a conservative who can presumably pull votes from Meehan. If internal Democratic polling echoes the public survey, it’s likely that the party’s congressional campaign committee will invest heavily in the race.

But there’s downside for Lentz, too. Meehan is expected to carry a significant financial advantage into the closing weeks of the race. And while Lentz has already been on TV with relatively modest ad buys for weeks, Meehan has saved his campaign war chest for a media blitz that could eventually swamp Lentz off the airwaves.

Fifty percent of likely voters disapprove of President Obama’s job performance, and both parties are viewed unfavorably by a majority of respondents.

“This district mirrors the national mood,” Monmouth University polling director Patrick Murray said. “Voters are disappointed with the way the country has gone over the past two years and blame both political parties, but they have to choose someone.”

In another finding that could foreshadow some trouble for Democratic Senate candidate Joe Sestak, he is leading Republican rival Pat Toomey by only three points in the 7th, within the margin of error—despite the fact that the survey was taken in the district he represents.

Meehan remains better known, but that gap is not what internal polling demonstrated months ago. Thirty percent of likely voters don’t have an opinion, compared to 37 percent who say the same of Lentz. Meehan enjoys higher favorability ratings, and echoing findings in battleground districts across the country, he has significantly more strength among independent voters. Meehan leads among male voters, while Lentz holds a smaller edge with women.

The survey of 670 likely voters, conducted Oct. 4-6, had a margin of error of 3.8 percent.

Click here to see the poll.

Correction: This article originally misstated President Obama’s approval ratings as reported by the poll. Fifty percent of respondents disapproved of his job performance, and 44 percent approved, not the other way around.

Specter will be joining Senators Bob Casey and Chuck Schumer and a reception for Democratic Senate candidate Joe Sestak Monday in the Philadelphia. It will mark one of the only times since their bitter primary that Specter has stumped for Sestak—Specter brought him to a lunch of Senate Democrats shortly after the primary, but hasn’t done any public events.

He voiced his support for Sestak as he conceded on primary night.

The downtown event, first reported by The Philadelphia Jewish Voice, is expected to showcase Specter and his colleagues vouching for Sestak’s bona fides on Israel policy. Republican candidate Pat Toomey is hoping to make significant inroads among suburban Jewish voters, a constituency that long supported Specter.

Virginia Cody says on her campaign Web site that she’s a registered Republicans, but identifies with Tea Party activists, Democrats, environmentalists and libertarians. She’ll have to attract all those constituencies to have any remote chance at a write-in campaign, typically a grueling endeavor even for the most well-known political figures.

“I have never run for a political office before,” Cody says on her Web site. “But, politics is inherent in virtually every business you are involved in. So, I feel quite safe in saying I understand how politics works; it’s a multi-layered mousetrap. I’m pretty smart, and I have a very steep learning curve. But, as far as I’m concerned, politics doesn’t have to be ‘business as usual.’ I intend to make sure it isn’t.

At least two larger write-in campaigns are already taking place in support of Republican Sam Rohrer, who lost the May primary to Tom Corbett. Rohrer has neither endorsed nor condemned those efforts, but he has also never endorsed Corbett’s candidacy.

Cody supports a moratorium on current Marcellus drilling and, later, a high drilling severance tax. The Patriot-News reports that Cody was among the anti-drilling activists who recently caught the attention of a state contractor that became embroiled in controversy for monitoring activists and circulating their activities to law enforcement agencies as possible security threats.

“No longer are we willing to accept the incestuous relationship the natural gas industry has with our legislators and government,” she says. “No longer are we willing to allow the natural gas industry to run roughshod over our citizenry with its deceptive leasing practices, its environmental carnage, and its arrogant refusal to pay its way while it does business in our state.”

Biden will be in Scranton Monday to headline a fundraiser for Congressman Chris Carney (D-10). A Carney campaign spokesman told The Times Leader that Biden, who was born in Scranton and lived there until he was 10, will join Carney for a morning event.

Carney faces a tough reelection fight against Republican Tom Marino in the conservative, northeast Pennsylvania district. The race is currently No. 5 on the pa2010.com Congressional Power Rankings.

Matthew Morrison, who stars on the Fox show “Glee,” will stump for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dan Onorato Saturday.

An afternoon appearance at Carnegie Mellon University will be followed shortly after by an event at Point Park University.

One more has been added to the schedule, and this one is set to go down Oct. 18. It’ll be aired on the local ABC affiliate in Philadelphia, giving Republican Tom Corbett and Democrat Dan Onorato what could potentially be their biggest debate audience of the campaign.

That debate will come just two days after the candidates have their second debate, a televised one in Pittsburgh.

Meanwhile, there’s been a flurry of outside ad buys in the Senate race recently.

First, there was this latest TV spot from conservative group Crossroads GPS, those guys who just love to hit Democrat Joe Sestak on spending.

Then, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee chimed in with its latest ad, which tries to frame Republican Pat Toomey as China-friendly outsourcer of jobs.

And to top it all off, Toomey’s buddies at the Club for Growth have yet another ad of their own taking Sestak to task for stimulus spending.

There’s also a new ad in the 15th Congressional District, where Democratic challenger John Callahan is pushing back against criticism from incumbent republican Charlie Dent that he’s not the budget-balancer he claims to be.

Check it out below.

And last but not least, it appears that Republican Mike Fitzpatrick has snagged an endorsement from a local police union. We haven’t yet seen a release from the Fitzpatrick campaign, but The Inquirer reported that FOP Lodge 5 had made its decision.

As The Inky notes, that’s something of a blow for Congressman Patrick Murphy (D-8), who’s the son of a retired cop and has boasted police support before.

The 30-second spot, which was not released by the campaign but was airing Tuesday night and Wednesday morning in the Philadelphia media market, refers to Toomey as “Pennsylvania’s most right-wing congressman”—a reference to an American Conservative Union rating that has put him to the right of former Senator Rick Santorum.

It goes on to air a clip in which Toomey says “my voting record’s pretty heard to distinguish from Rick Santorum’s,” and reminds viewers that Toomey called Palin “a spectacular governor.” It also airs a clip in which Toomey voices support for outlawing abortion and enacting penalties for doctors who perform them.

With most public polls showing Toomey leading Sestak one month before Election Day and with the race expected to tighten, the new ad underscores a key pillar of Sestak’s strategy: make Toomey unacceptably conservative to Pennsylvanians.

“Pat Toomey,” the ad says, “he’s not on our side.”

See the ad below.

The survey, commissioned by The Hill and conducted by polling firm Penn Schoen Berland, found Kelly garnering 49 percent of the vote in the northwest Pennsylvania district, compared to 36 percent for Dahlkemper. Fifteen percent of likely voters are undecided—just enough to give Dahlkemper a road to victory one month before Election Day.

The poll was one of a dozen commissioned by the Capitol newspaper in battleground races, and it contained just the latest signs of trouble for Dahlkemper, a freshman buffeted by a poor political climate and her vote in favor of the health care overhaul. Other internal polling has found Kelly holding a lead, but the latest results show him to be in a formidable position.

Almost 60 percent of respondents said that health care law should be repealed.

The survey of 401 likely voters, conducted Sept. 25-27, had a margin of error of 4.9 percent.