In comparison, her party-endorsed opponent, Mike Brubaker, has been low key.

Brubaker has sent a pair of press releases to the media and will host fundraisers tonight and Tuesday.

"This operation is in full swing," he said Monday in an e-mail. "Throughout the upcoming weeks, expect to see even more outreaches into the community as we push forward to a victory on May 16."

Wheaton and Brubaker are seeking the Republican nomination for the 36th District seat, which covers most of northern Lancaster County and parts of Chester County.

Incumbent Noah Wenger plans to retire from the 36th in November.

He has endorsed Brubaker, who also has the backing of the Lancaster County Republican Committee.

Wheaton, backed by PACleanSweep, is campaigning aggressively earlier than most candidates seeking state office from Lancaster County. Traditionally, candidates wait until closer to Election Day to begin this level of campaigning.

"It's important that I have my image and my message out there because it's only six weeks before the election," she said Tuesday.

Today, Wheaton plans to announce details of an April 18 dinner that will feature former GOP presidential candidate Alan Keyes.

"We asked him to come," Wheaton said. "He was impressed with my credentials, my platform and my message."

Wheaton opposes gambling and abortion and has promised to vote against tax increases.

Brubaker, a strong proponent of agriculture, favors tort reform to cut medical malpractice insurance costs.

For the last few weeks, Wheaton has blitzed the public through advertisements on Christian radio station WDAC and 10 billboards along roadways in the district.

Recently, she debuted a television commercial on WGAL-TV in which she slams the state Republican leadership for legalizing slot machines and increasing government spending, taxes and their own paychecks.

The commercial's message illustrates how she has been wrangling with the Republican power base.

On Jan. 31, she rallied in the state Capitol with PACleanSweep, a political action committee dedicated to ousting all incumbent legislators, including many long-established Republican lawmakers from Lancaster County.

Despite garnering only 2 percent of the votes in the county Republican committee's endorsement process in February, Wheaton decided to stay in the race.

Standing against the establishment will help her at the ballot box, Wheaton said.

"I know the electorate is not happy with Harrisburg," she said.

However, her tactics may have sparked a backlash.

On one of her billboards along Route 283, someone this week spray painted a circle with a slash over her face and wrote "LIAR."

She also has been accused by fellow Republicans of using her position as an East Hempfield Township supervisor for personal gain.

Wheaton said she has spent her own money on the campaign, but she didn't know Tuesday just how much.

"I put some of my own money into the campaign because I think it's important for a candidate to be independent," she said, implying some lawmakers vote based on who contributes to their campaigns.

Brubaker said in his e-mail he will continue talking to voters in the coming weeks.

"We are staying on point, discussing with voters their concerns over issues such as property tax reform and their ever-growing concern that we keep agriculture as an integral part of our Lancaster County economic engine," he wrote.

He was not available Tuesday for additional comment.

Dave Pidgeon's e-mail address is dpidgeon@lnpnews.com. blog comments powered by Disqus