Posted on 01/25/2009 12:34:21 AM PST by Impy
A former Lehigh Valley congressman is considering making a bid in the race for Pennsylvania governor next year, making him the second politician with local ties to express interest in the post.
Pat Toomey, president of the conservative political action committee The Club for Growth, said in a statement Friday that he is exploring a chance to succeed Gov. Edward G. Rendell.
The announcement came as a surprise to some political experts.
"I have had several preliminary conversations with supporters of mine regarding a possible run for governor in 2010," Toomey said in the e-mailed statement. "Given the state of Pennsylvania's economy and the disastrous state budget deficits we face, there certainly is a need for major changes in Harrisburg.
"It is still very early in my exploration of a possible run but it is something I will consider," he said.
Toomey did not return calls to his cell phone Friday night seeking further comment.
The Republican narrowly lost a primary race in 2004 for the U.S. Senate against incumbent Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., and some politicos had expected Toomey to take another shot next year at Specter's seat.
Rumors that Toomey was looking at the governorship only arose in the last couple of weeks, said G. Terry Madonna, director of the Keystone Poll at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa.
That Toomey would also be going up against what Madonna called a strong Republican field that includes state Attorney General Tom Corbett and former U.S. Attorney Pat Meehan made the announcement even more surprising.
"We thought if he ran, he'd run for Senate," Madonna said.
(Excerpt) Read more at lehighvalleylive.com ...
Good news for Mr. Scottish Law. :/
Ping
I thought Toomey decided the other day he wasn’t going to run.
Here in PA we are asking questions and Ed Rendell is trying to not increase taxes with a 2 billion dollar defecit in the budget.
Rendell doesn’t want to toss in the towel for a possible Democrat successor 2010 by jacking up taxes.
Meanwhile one asks why Toomey choses to run for governor.
Is it about winning or about dealing with political insiders?
In 1994 I was shocked when the openly pro-life Rick Santorum was allowed to be the US Senate by the liberal PA GOP Establishment without much more than a whimper.
Later on as Santorum supported Arlen Specter for re-election including 2004 when pro-life Toomey challenged Specter and still Santorum went with the pro-abortion Specter, the picture became clearer in my mind.
There was a deal to allow Santorum to be a senator as long as he supported Arlen and the liberal GOP bosses.
Toomey may have been told he would not be allowed to challenge Specter without a divisive fight that would have hurt Toomey from winning a general election in 2010.
There’s been talk in the media from GOP insider sources for years pushing Toomey as a candidate for governor. Specter is being protected and Toomey may be getting a deal to allow him to further his ambition for higher office.
As for challenging Senator Specter, another possible candidate is in the wings. Activist Peg Luksik ran against a pro-abortion party endorsed candidate in the 1990 primary for governor. Nobody knew her but she got 45 percent of the vote against the pro-abortion Republican who Bob Casey Sr. (the pro life one) trounced in the general election by a landslide.
Peg ran as an independent in 1994 and 1998 for governor when pro-abortiin Tom Ridge was the GOP candidate. She got 13 and 7 percent support in those elections.
Most recently she was campaign manager for William Russell’s congressional campaign against John Murtha.
Peg Luksik is the real thing when it comes to the issues and would be a worthy challenger to Specter, but she would need money.
“There was a deal to allow Santorum to be a senator as long as he supported Arlen and the liberal GOP bosses.”
Nah he just made an idiotic political decision to back the incumbent as did Bush/Rove and the NRSC. Cause it’s the fluffy bunny safe thing to do back the RINO incumbent.
“Toomey may have been told he would not be allowed to challenge Specter without a divisive fight that would have hurt Toomey from winning a general election in 2010.”
It’s obvious it would be a divisive fight.
Best of luck to Luksik if she runs.
I first saw this on poltics1 on Friday night. He’s looking at Governor.
I’m a tad worried, the thing where the office switches parties every 8 years has got to end sometime. It could’ve ended in 2002 if Schweiker had run, he had had become quite popular.
I don’t think the GOP establishment even believed Harris Wofford would be beaten. As for Peg Luksik, she may be too much of a perennial candidate, and if she gets the GOP nomination over Specter, watch as the entire GOP establishment leaves the office for a Democrat takeover. If Toomey actually runs for Governor, he’s going to face a crowded field. I’d think our strongest candidate would be Attorney General Tom Corbett, since he has already won statewide.
Whoops, I misread the headline. It was Senator that he said he wasn’t going to run for. I’m just concerned about a big, ugly and divisive GOP Gubernatorial primary that we don’t need. And, yes, I wish Mark Schweiker had run in ‘02, he would’ve beaten Rendell and broken the 8-year “curse.”
So much for the freepers who shoved Specter down our throats in 2004 with the promise "hold your nose to stop Hoeffel and you'll only have to put up with one more term... no way will he run in 2010". Looks like the old geezer won't leave until he's carried out feet first.
Bad trend going into 2010... seems the GOP is pushing for a lot of REALLY bad RINOs to run in highly contested races. And I'm talking REAL liberals, not the type of moderate squishy center-right candidates that freepers whined about in 2006 and 2008. I couldn't bring myself to support ANY of these in a general election, even in a close race against a socialist RAT:
- Mark "progressive groups rate me better than Obama" Kirk, IL (yes he actually ran campaign ads GLOATING about that)
- Arlen "Scottish Law" Specter, PA
- Peter King of Slick Willie & IRA Terrorist Fan Club, NY
- Arnold Schwartzekennedy, CA
I suppose I could hold my nose for odious Mike Castle running for U.S. Senator in Delaware if I HAD to, but suffice it to I'd rather spend four hours undergoing gallbladder surgery.
And I really tend to go out a limp for RINOs if it's the general election and they're the only thing that stands in the way of an all out commie RAT. I even supported Tom Kean Jr. in New Jersey, son of ultra RINO Tom Kean Sr. (and senior is so bad he openly supported the Dem candidate until his son entered the race). In the last election, the only two U.S. Senate candidates the GOP nominated that I wouldn't endorse were Collins (Maine) and Sauerberg (IL). And in the later case, as much as I hated unqualified combine candidate Sauerberg, I would have held my nose for him IF was polling within the margin of error the week of the election and actually had a chance to "beat Durbin"
Corbett is a good looking politician almost Mitt Romney like in appearance.
Corbett has been going after corruption in the legislature and that doesn’t hurt either.
But I don’t see Corbett as a great spending cut, tax cut conservative.
Toomey has that rep and I would vote for Toomey over Corbett in a primary if I had to.
My best scenario would be Toomey for US Senate and Corbett for governor but if Toomey won’t run for Senate then Luksik seems like the strongest Specter opponent next in line.
Good assessment, he’s often at the forefront and sometimes fights for something good. More than you can say for CollinSnowne, they strike me as backbenchers.
I don’t know if the Kindergarten cop will be running for the Senate. He’s disavowed interest but is he really gonna leave his political career? (please yes). Of course what he really wants is a constitutional amendment to allow him to run for President. Thank goodness that will never happen just imagine that. “Where do you differ with President Obama Governor?” He’d probably say he’s against socialism as he always does (pretty effectively) which is a bald-faced lie or else he doesn’t know what the word means. I’d vote for him to beat Boxer but I’d never support him for an executive position again. His voting record would likely be moderate democrat.
Castle is basally the RINO house leader isn’t he? I’d rate him as the worst of the bunch. I can totally see him pulling a Kent Williams if there was a 218-217 GOP majoirty.
Interestingly he may have a real race for the house if as I would expect he wusses out on facing Biden Jr. Jack Markell the former LT Governor who unexpectedly lost the rat primary for Governor may be running.
“In the last election, the only two U.S. Senate candidates the GOP nominated that I wouldn’t endorse were Collins (Maine) and Sauerberg (IL)”
You might have missed the gadly elderly Green party member who beat the chosen GOPer and won the nomination in Montana.
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Bob_Kelleher#Political_Experience
I guess I’d have voted for him anyway to protest the certain to win Max Baucus. But he called for nationalization of the oil industry and single payer health care. Barf. Total clusterf888 by the Montana Republicans.
“Tom Kean Jr. in New Jersey, son of ultra RINO Tom Kean Sr. (and senior is so bad he openly supported the Dem candidate until his son entered the race).”
Oh. And ick. Suddenly Menendez wasn’t so awesome when his little boy started to run against him huh.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.