By Julia Terruso, The Philadelphia Inquirer (TNS)

Eric Stern drove out to Erie, Pennsylvania, last January and got a slice of pizza with Christina Vogel at Donato’s, the downtown shop she has owned for nine years.

The small-business owner and political novice was interested in running for county executive against a vulnerable Republican incumbent. Stern, a longtime Democratic political operative, was part of a newly founded company looking for candidates to help flip Republican-held seats.

“It all started with trying to find candidates who were, frankly, better messengers for the values we had and the things we cared about,” Stern said. “She was someone who understood the urgency of this moment as a small-business owner and mom but just as critically was not part of this broken system t

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