Congressman Pat Meehan mulls run for U.S. Senate
If he runs in 2018, he would face off against Democrat Bob Casey Jr.
U.S. Sen. Pat Meehan? A month after winning re-election to the House of Representatives from Pennsylvania’s 7th District, the Republican Congressman is reportedly mulling taking a run at Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr.’s seat in the 2018 election.
Sources close to Meehan said the decision is still up in the air, but he is open and considering it.
“I know Pat’s hearing a lot of enthusiasm about his candidacy,” said Delaware County Republican Party Chairman Andy Reilly. “He’s got the perfect profile to win it and he can raise the resources.”
The former Delaware County District Attorney and U.S. Attorney for Eastern Pennsylvania, Meehan, of ChaddsFord, wonafourth term in the U.S. House on Nov. 8, easily defeating his Democratic opponent, Mary Ellen Balchunis, by a vote of 219,314 to 147,808.
The sprawling 7th Congressional District covers parts of Delaware, Montgomery, Chester, Berks and Lancaster counties.
“This is the fourth time we’ve hadachance to behere together in this room and I leave each time humbled by your support and appreciative of the great responsibility we have,” Meehan said in his victory speech.
Meehan’s office declined comment for this story.
In reaching out to Casey for comment, a staffer speaking on his belief wasted no time going on the offensive.
“If Congressman Meehan is going to run then he will have to explain his radical record of voting to slash Medicare benefits for Pennsylvania seniors and his plan that would also severely cut nursing home aid to 250,000 Pennsylvanians,” said Brandon Cwalina, deputy press secretary for the Pennsylvania Democratic Party.
For right now, Meehan is apparently still mulling over the prospect with his family, and has yet to make a formal declaration of his candidacy. He is up for reelection for his House seat the same election cycle, and there is little chance that after four consecutive wins that he’ll step down from that post.
Regardless, enthusiasm for his candidacy in the Senate remains high, which Reilly called a “perfect position for him,” but we won’t know for sure until after Inauguration Day.
In Washington, Meehan, 61, serves on the House Ways and Means Committee, its Oversight and Human Resources subcommittee, the House Ethics Committee and the House of Representatives’ chief tax-writing committee.
His service in the House makes him an attractive candidate for Senate, Reilly said.
“I think it’s natural progression for a congressman,” Reilly said. “He has the benefit of being a federal candidate already.”
In terms of raising money for a Senate campaign, Meehan will need to get started right away onfundraising for the 2018 election cycle. For comparison, Casey raised $14,113,233 in the 2012 election, far less than his Republican opponent, Tom Smith, a conservative activist who raised $21,299,108 in a losing bid.
Meehan raised $2,392,928 for the 2015-2016 election cycle, well above the average number raised by incumbent House members at $1,595,397.
Should he decide to run, Meehan’s biggest challenge will be expanding his profile and sphere of influence far beyond Delaware, Chester, Montgomery, Lancaster and Berks counties into the central, western and north- ern parts of the state.
In Meehan’s favor, the majority of Casey’s support came from southeastern Pennsylvania, while the rest of the state trended majority red for Smith in 2012.
“Pat’s been successful when he ran for D.A. and congressional campaigns,” Reilly said. “He can compete with Casey in the southeast, but it’s something he’ll need to make a decision on soon.”
Meehan’s been described as “center-right,” which could work in his favor against the electoral base of Casey.
The Republican U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, Pat Toomey, similarly moved from the U.S. House of Representatives to the Senate in 2011. He served in the House representing the Lehigh Valley’s 15th District from 1999 until 2005. Toomey is an Allentown native.
Toomey’s re-election campaign against Democratic challenger Katie McGinty was overshadowed by the presidential election, for obvious reasons, but the hotly
contested U.S. Senate race set all-time marks in Pennsylvania in terms of the money raised.
Toomey brought in $29,061,753 in campaign funds between 2011 and 2016.
In a non-presidential year, the Meehan and Casey faceoff could be one of the most talked about elections nationwide. Republicans hold a 52-to-46 seat advantage (two independent) in the 115th United States Congress.