Toomey might be the best you’re going to get as a Republican in PA these days. I might have felt differently 3-4 years ago, but Lou Barletta’s disappointing performance in the 2018 Senate race changed my outlook considerably.
Unfortunately, Lou was not very well known statewide. He was my former congresscritter by the way. I knew him prior to that when he was major of Hazelton through a common drinking buddy. He’s a very decent person and a regular guy. He just might be too decent and regular to be a big-time politician.
You raise a good point!
Barletta, a strong conservative - did very poor against Casey. The unfortunate reality is that there are more democrats than republicans registered in PA. Another problem Barletta faced was Casey's strong name recognition and strong support from so-called 'traditional' democrats.
The questions I would ask about Barletta's loss to Casey is whether the PA republican party and the RNC provided Barletta the support that he needed? Did Toomey provide Barletta his strong support; did he vigorously campaign for him? Did the republican party surround Barletta with a winning campaign staff and winning levels of $$?
What did the autopsy reveal about Barlett's Senate campaign and loss to Casey?