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Santorum thinks Meehan should bow out, run for Congress instead

Santorum thinks Meehan should bow out, run for Congress instead

Joining a growing chorus of Republican leaders, former Senator Rick Santorum says that Pat Meehan should abandon his gubernatorial aspirations in favor of a Congressional run.

In a recent interview with pa2010.com, Santorum said he got the sense that Meehan, a former U.S. Attorney, was now beginning to look at other options, including running for the 7th District seat that Joe Sestak is expected to vacate.

“There’s a tremendous opportunity for him to run for Congress,” Santorum said. “It’d be a great launching point for him.”

Eager to retake the Governor’s Mansion after 8 years and confident in state Attorney General Tom Corbett’s political acumen, GOP insiders have increasingly been pressuring Meehan to step aside, with some him encouraging to join Corbett on a ticket as Lieutenant Governor. But until Santorum’s comments, the entreaties had come mostly from western Pennsyania Republicans allied with Corbett. Santorum, however, is a political ally of Meehan’s. Meehan has been a campaign manager for Santorum, and lower-level consultants have and still do shuffle between the two politicos.

Santorum’s sentiment, combined with a poll released Tuesday that showed Meehan running third in the GOP primary, could eventually give Meehan more pause about a gubernatorial run. But reiterating previous responses to calls for Meehan’s exit, his spokeswoman Virginia Davis said nothing has changed.

“Pat Meehan is flattered by the encouragement he’s received from party leaders to consider running for other offices,” Davis said. “However, his focus remains on building an exploratory for governor and bringing change to Harrisburg.”

With Sestak expected to leave the seat open in favor of a Senate run against Arlen Specter, Santorum said running for Congress would be the right move for Meehan. A former Delaware County District Attorney, Meehan has a significant base of support in the district.

“That would be my recommendation, but we’ll see what he decides to do,” Santorum said.

•Also on pa2010.com: Meehan mulling a run for Sestak’s Congressional seat

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July 21, 2009 at 1:35 pm

--Dan Hirschhorn

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  1. Anonymous

    Jul 21st, 2009

    That would work perfectly, Meehan as 7th Congressional candidate. Of course Welch and Williams might have some input on the final look of things. Now if the R’s can get a solid Lt. Gov Candidate.

  2. David Diano

    Jul 21st, 2009

    Santorum also thinks there were WMD’s in Iraq and that abstinence is good public health policy.
    The electorate voted resoundingly against what Rick Santorum thinks.

  3. Joe Hart

    Jul 21st, 2009

    Just like Gerlach was supposed to bow out and primary Toomey or return to Congress, Meehan’s not going nowhere. He sure as hell don’t wanna be a 50 something freshmen Congressman in a big minority status.

    Maybe Lt. Gov but definitely not Congress. Also, no way Williams would primary his old boss if given the chance. Not to mention most of his 2008 money would go to Meehan based on his support in Delco.

  4. Gregory Kauffman

    Jul 21st, 2009

    I still cringe every time I hear the former Senator’s name. I can’t say I’d trust his judgement on anything, so I wouldn’t expect Meehan to take advice from him either.

  5. Santorum thinks Meehan should bow out, run for Congress instead… | GrassrootsPA

    Jul 21st, 2009

    [...] Santorum thinks Meehan should bow out, run for Congress instead… [...]

  6. Andy

    Jul 21st, 2009

    All due respect to former Sen. Santorum, but I dont think he is necessarily the expert on what the 7th district, the district Meehan would be running in, needs. Steven Welch, who has announced his candidacy, is committed to the 7th, and couldn’t not be a better fit for the job. Just something to think about.

  7. Dave

    Jul 22nd, 2009

    It’s the economy, stupid. More accurately, it’s about jobs stupid. The 7th district can’t afford business as usual and the Republican party especially can’t afford to run a candidate that fails to capture the minds of the constituents. For better or worse, Santorum and Meehan represent the failures of the past few years. They have baggage. Despite what you might hear from the talking heads of cable news, the Republican party isn’t going to disappear, but it does need a face lift. I’m excited that a successful entrepreneur and businessman who’s spent the last 10 years creating jobs and opportunities is throwing his hat in the ring. Could Steve Welch be the new face of a stronger more electable Republican Party? God I hope so.

  8. Good idea

    Jul 27th, 2009

    Meehan should ask himself a very important question, if he were to run for Lt. Gov, who says that Corbett would welcome it?? We’ve only been seeing letters encouraging him to run. But no one has asked Corbett if he’d like the idea….also, with upwards of 12-13 people in the cue for Lt. Gov, why not give them a chance to fight it out and have give the party a fresh crop of leaders for another year…Meehan should do himself a favor and go for the low hanging fruit…the 7th. Congressional

  9. Hunter S.

    Jul 28th, 2009

    You mean “scoop” Santorum?

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