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Open state Senate seat could mean no Lt. Gov. run for Castor

UPDATE APPENDED (see bottom)

Montgomery County Commissioner Bruce Castor had expressed interest in running for the GOP nomination for Lieutenant Governor. But an open state Senate seat could change all that.

Castor, a Republican who has been mostly locked out of policy-making because of a power-sharing agreement between Republican Commissioner Jim Matthews and Democrat Joe Hoeffel, had been contacted recently by an ally of GOP gubernatorial front-runner Tom Corbett about being potential running mates. But when state Senator Rob Wonderling (R-Montgomery) was named the new head of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce this week, Castor’s name was floated almost immediately as a possible successor.

If he were to win the seat, it would mean a political escape from minority status in Montgomery County to being part of a legislative majority in the state Senate.

Castor didn’t take questions from pa2010.com yesterday afternoon, but released a statement confirming that he’s considering the race.

“Over the last twenty four hours I have been humbled by contact from many Republican Party leaders and citizens from Montgomery, Bucks, Lehigh and Northampton counties encouraging me to seek the nomination to replace Senator Robert Wonderling in Pennsylvania’s 24th Senate District,” he said yesterday afternoon.

He indicated to The Inquirer that it would be nice to be back in a majority.

If Castor does pursue the Senate seat, it would seem to give a leg up to Philadelphia City Councilman Frank Rizzo, who has expressed interest in the race and was also contacted recently by a Corbett ally.

•Earlier on pa2010.com: MontCo GOP feud could spill into Lt. Gov. race
Room for another Philly Republican in Harrisburg?

UPDATE: State Representative Bob Mensch (R-Montgomery) tells PoliticsPA that he wants Castor to stay put. More intra-party turmoil for Castor and the MontCo GOP?

June 3, 2009 at 9:53 am

--Dan Hirschhorn

Tags: Bruce Castor, Frank Rizzo, Lt. Gov.

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