RSS
Pat's Stakes
It took Delaware County Democrats 20 years to topple Curt Weldon and capture the 7th District seat in Congress.
And some say it took a federal investigation into Weldon to do it.
It might take them all of four years to watch it return to GOP control.
All of this is rooted in the decision by U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak to vacate his seat in D.C. and throw down the gantlet smack in the middle of Sen.
Arlen Specter’s path to the Democratic nomination.
Consider Sestak the first domino in one of those elaborate table-top displays. Sestak’s long-awaited official announcement that he would challenge Specter for the Dem nod knocked over that first domino. You know what happens next - away they go.
Sestak’s announcement created the “specter” – as it were – of a second race, one to replace Sestak in Congress.
Republican Craig Williams, while woefully underfunded, ran a solid race against Sestak in 2008. To no avail. He was solidly thumped by Sestak.
Williams was expected to consider running again. Steve Welch, an entrepreneur from Montgomery County, has already announced he would seek the GOP nod.
On the Democratic side, state Rep. Bryan Lentz, D-161, was considered the likely front-runner. Rep. Greg Vitali, D-166, long a thorn in the GOP’s side, also was tinkering with the idea of heading to D.C.
Then the county political landscape was rocked by an announcement on Friday by a very familiar face.
Pat Meehan is a former Delaware County district attorney, as well as the respected former U.S. Attorney for eastern Pennsylvania known for rooting out corruption.
The common belief was that Meehan was looking at a run for governor, a race that would pit him against Republican Congressman Jim Gerlach and Attorney General Tom Corbett.
But on Friday Meehan took himself out of the running for the GOP gubernatorial race, and indicated he was considering a run for the 7th District House seat.
In short, that changes everything. Meehan would immediately become the favorite in the race, which would return the seat to GOP hands after just two terms under Joe Sestak.
That doesn’t mean it’s a lock. Meehan hasn’t even officially announced yet, although most in the county GOP consider that a foregone conclusion.
The question now will shift to the Democrats and what they want to do.
If either Lentz or Vitali run, the party runs the risk of not only losing the seat in Congress, but also a seat in the state House.
Call it Pat’s Stakes. And for Delco Democrats, the stakes are very high.
And some say it took a federal investigation into Weldon to do it.
It might take them all of four years to watch it return to GOP control.
All of this is rooted in the decision by U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak to vacate his seat in D.C. and throw down the gantlet smack in the middle of Sen.
Arlen Specter’s path to the Democratic nomination.
Consider Sestak the first domino in one of those elaborate table-top displays. Sestak’s long-awaited official announcement that he would challenge Specter for the Dem nod knocked over that first domino. You know what happens next - away they go.
Sestak’s announcement created the “specter” – as it were – of a second race, one to replace Sestak in Congress.
Republican Craig Williams, while woefully underfunded, ran a solid race against Sestak in 2008. To no avail. He was solidly thumped by Sestak.
Williams was expected to consider running again. Steve Welch, an entrepreneur from Montgomery County, has already announced he would seek the GOP nod.
On the Democratic side, state Rep. Bryan Lentz, D-161, was considered the likely front-runner. Rep. Greg Vitali, D-166, long a thorn in the GOP’s side, also was tinkering with the idea of heading to D.C.
Then the county political landscape was rocked by an announcement on Friday by a very familiar face.
Pat Meehan is a former Delaware County district attorney, as well as the respected former U.S. Attorney for eastern Pennsylvania known for rooting out corruption.
The common belief was that Meehan was looking at a run for governor, a race that would pit him against Republican Congressman Jim Gerlach and Attorney General Tom Corbett.
But on Friday Meehan took himself out of the running for the GOP gubernatorial race, and indicated he was considering a run for the 7th District House seat.
In short, that changes everything. Meehan would immediately become the favorite in the race, which would return the seat to GOP hands after just two terms under Joe Sestak.
That doesn’t mean it’s a lock. Meehan hasn’t even officially announced yet, although most in the county GOP consider that a foregone conclusion.
The question now will shift to the Democrats and what they want to do.
If either Lentz or Vitali run, the party runs the risk of not only losing the seat in Congress, but also a seat in the state House.
Call it Pat’s Stakes. And for Delco Democrats, the stakes are very high.
posted by Heron's Nest at
7:27 AM
1 Comments:
Why did you deem Meehan the favorite? Is this a result of some poll that was done? Or is it just speculation?
Maybe the PA-7 district has been happy with having a Democrat represent them and would like to continue that. That's just as likely a scenario.
Speaking of the federal investigation of Weldon, why not do a little investigation yourselves and see what's going on with that? Curt Weldon was being investigated and is now holding a job working for an arms dealer. Might be worth a look Delco Times!
Post a Comment
<< Home