It’s that time of the year again.

Throughout the commonwealth, the county parties are meeting to decide whether and whom to endorse in the April 26th primary.

The Bucks County Democratic Committee gathered at Richboro Middle School on Saturday morning for their own meeting. The small auditorium and adjoining hallways were packed with candidates, office holders and volunteers many of whom were busy getting attendees to sign various nominating petitions.

Chairman John Cordisco spoke of his hopes of turning Bucks County blue after coming so close last November. He even called out Governor Wolf and the previous regime at the state Democratic Party. Noting that he had given Wolf $50,000 in 2014 he lamented that a request for $25,000 was met with just $2,500 the weekend before Election Day. Cordisco believed that lack of money made the difference.

When it came to the business at hand, Bucks decided to forgo any endorsements in statewide races, following the lead of the state party. Nevertheless, surrogates were still allowed to speak on a candidate’s behalf.

For instance, Josh Shapiro’s brother Adam spoke for a few minutes about his sibling’s background and his pledge to clean up the AG’s office. The Zappala campaign also sent a statement by email which was read aloud.

The biggest surprise was the appearance of Senate candidate John Fetterman who said he drove 323 miles to make it.

The Braddock Mayor spoke for just a few minutes but nonetheless made an impact on the audience. When he asked the assembled if they had ever heard of Braddock many hands went up.

“Wow, I think that’s my best showing ever,” he exclaimed.

If that informal poll or the standing ovation he received is any indication, Fetterman has become a great communicator on the stump.

On the other hand, the Sestak campaign was represented by a pair of clipboard holding representatives who spent their time working the crowd for signatures. I didn’t find any McGinty volunteers or staffers, although the campaign insists that they were present.

It’s been quite ironic that while McGinty is garnering the support of the big names in the Democratic Party, she hasn’t been as forceful at the county level. This resulted in an embarrassing development last week, when she lost an endorsement in her backyard of Chester County to Sestak, whose congressional district contained parts of the county.

The main event, though, was the PA-8 contest.

Shaughnessy Naughton’s campaign conceded beforehand that Steve Santarsiero was likely to get the endorsement and the State Representative’s supporters were out in full.

Decked out in yellow and blue, they were lead by one boisterous man who initiated several chants such as “He’s our hero, Sant-ar-siero”. Some even brought hand-made signs with pointed messages like “Chemists for Steve” (Naughton is a chemist). Santarsiero was nominated by a pair of politicians, Bucks County Commissioner Diane Marseglia and 2012 PA-8 Democratic nominee Kathy Boockvar.

Naughton was nominated by two committee people instead, one of whom called her “Shaughnessy Newton”.

It was quite the contrast from two years ago when Naughton’s support among the rank-and-file denied Kevin Strouse the county’s endorsement. Back then, thanks to DCCC support, Strouse was the leader in the money primary.

Today, however, Naughton has much more cash on hand than Santarsiero. In fact, in a reversal from 2014, there were rumblings that the DCCC might try to push Santarsiero out of the contest last summer because of worries about the State Rep.’s fundraising.

Afterwards, Santarsiero trumpeted his second victory this week (he also won the endorsement of the Montgomery County Democrats).

“I am proud to be the Democratic Party’s endorsed candidate for Congress in Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District,” he stated. “I’ve built a record as a proven progressive as a state Representative standing up to the NRA by authoring our state’s universal background check bill, fighting for women’s reproductive rights by earning a 100% rating from Planned Parenthood and introducing legislation to keep good paying Pennsylvanian jobs here at home. I am ready to continue the fight for our shared Democratic values in Congress.”

Naughton left the assembly and headed straight back to the campaign trail, hitting three restaurants in succession.

“Shaughnessy’s local support has been nothing short of amazing. Voters are excited to hear about how Shaughnessy will fight for them in Congress,” said Naughton Campaign spokesman Erik Polyak. “Shaughnessy is not a career politician, she comes from a middle class background and she will never forget about that when she’s in Congress.”

The 8th district consists of all of Bucks County as well as parts of upper Montgomery County.