Contender shuffle continues in race to fill Tsongas seat

Ellen Murphy Meehan’s decision not to seek U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas’s open seat removed a major name from an already wide-open race, with two other wouldbe candidates signaling they’re primed to jump in amid a post-Labor Day flurry.

Republican Rick Green said last night on Twitter he plans to launch an exploratory committee today, a first official step toward a campaign. It came just hours after Paul Craney of the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, which Green founded, said the Pepperell businessman was “leaning toward” a run after earlier this year flirting with a U.S. Senate campaign.

“Tomorrow is my birthday. It’s also the day I’ll launch an exploratory committee for a Congressional run,” Green wrote on Twitter. Efforts to reach him for further comment last night were unsuccessful.

Dan Koh, who recently left his post as Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s chief of staff, also said yesterday he has formed a campaign committee and is exploring a run. The Andover native quickly scored an endorsement from Walsh.

“It’s totally open, especially with a lot of time to go,” said University of Massachusetts Lowell professor Frank Talty, who directs the school’s Center for Public Opinion. “People can get into this race after the first of the year and still have a chance to put together an organization and win the thing.

“I think it’s largely a Democratic primary race,” Talty added, “but a strong Republican might be able to put it together.”

Meehan, a hospital consultant and the ex-wife of former U.S. Rep. Martin T. Meehan, was viewed as a strong contender for the seat, given her name recognition and ties to Tsongas, whose initial campaign she co-chaired.

Even in announcing she wouldn’t launch a campaign, U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, Martin Meehan and Tsongas herself offered statements of support, underlying the reach she likely would have enjoyed in a bid for the 3rd District seat.

“As much as I respect and admire those who serve in Congress, I believe I can be most effective right now working on behalf of health care providers in Massachusetts,” Meehan said in a statement.

But others remained on the sidelines, at least for now. State Sen. Eileen Donoghue, a Lowell Democrat, is still mulling whether to launch a campaign, 10 years after she finished second to Tsongas in the Democratic primary for the seat.

State Sen. Barbara L’Italien and former lieutenant governor nominee Steve Kerrigan, both Democrats, are also weighing runs.

WAAF radio host Greg Hill has also met with Republican officials about a potential campaign, though in comments on his radio show last week, Hill cautioned: “I really do love this job. It would have to be a lot for me not to do this job.”