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Lentz or Vitali? The question exposes a DelCo divide (Updated)

Ever since Congressman Joe Sestak (D-7) began signaling that he’d leave his House seat open in favor of a Senate run, Delaware County Democrats have been determined to hold onto a district it took them almost 20 years to win back. To that end, many have rallied around state Representative Bryan Lentz as the best candidate. But it seems that just as many have been prodding state Representative Greg Vitali to enter the race. And in the behind-the-scenes jockeying leading up to next year’s primary, a rift has emerged among county Democrats over who should be defending the seat.

The divide, which played out in interviews with numerous party insiders, in many ways mirrors conflicts that are all too familiar for the party. It has pitted contingents of Democrats from Media and Swarthmore against those from Haverford, Radnor and other areas. It has seen insiders who supported Sestak over Lentz in 2006 once again seeking an alternative candidate, this time in Vitali. And it has brought latent resentment of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s role in local politics back to the forefront.

But it has also played out against the backdrop of a looming party leadership battle, and has sometimes even cut across ideological lines within the party. And with Republicans appearing to settle on a strong candidate early in one of the most competitive House races in the country, it has the potential to make Democratic efforts to hold the seat all the more difficult.

“They’re both good men, but I don’t want to see a fight,” said Peter Jesson, the Chadds Ford party chairman who is supporting Lentz. “They’re going to burn up a lot of energy.

“It would give an enormous advantage to the Republicans if treasure and energy were spent on a contentious primary,” he added.

Lentz supporters see the two-term state lawmaker as an energetic campaigner whose military background will prove politically potent, and they have tried to discourage Vitali from jumping in, some more directly than others. But proponents of Vitali see a longtime community leader who has repeatedly won in a Republican-leaning state House district. One of Vitali’s biggest supporters, party treasurer Paul Scoles, e-mailed party members in August, asking them to “flood” Vitali’s mailbox “with messages encouraging him to declare his candidacy.”

“We need Greg in Congress,” Scoles wrote in the e-mail obtained by pa2010.com. “We need his brains, his passion on environmental issues, his dedication to working hard for his constituents, his integrity, and above all his calm but steady independence.”

The divide emerged long before political consultant E. Teresa Touey announced her candidacy this week. Lentz is definitely running and Vitali won’t make a final decision until after next month’s general election. But with the viability of Touey’s candidacy still unknown, Lentz, Vitali and party leaders all seemed to agree in interviews that it will be vital for any party primary to be conducted in a way that doesn’t harm the eventual nominee’s chances in a general election.

“I think it’s up to everbody to make sure that if we do have a primary, we treat everyone with respect,” said Anthony Campisi, a party vice-chair.

Signaling that he would take just that tone if he eventually runs, Vitali said: “I really am very conscious of trying to make sure that this is not personal. I want to stay 100 percent positive.”

But the disagreements are real, and while far from vitriolic, they run deep in the county party’s political culture. If they can be traced to a recent starting point, it would probably be in early 2006, when Sestak returned to the district to run for Congress. The DCCC had largely settled on Lentz, while some local insiders were behind Scoles. When Scoles bowed out and backed Sestak, Gov. Ed Rendell eventually prodded Lentz out of the race. Ever since, there have been raw feelings among Lentz supporters, and just as raw feelings among Sestak supporters who didn’t want the DCCC picking their candidate.

“I think that’s playing out today to a considerable extent,” Scoles said in an interview. “There were a lot of people who wanted Lentz [in 2006].

Vitali met with the DCCC in August and has been quiet since, Scoles said, only fueling the perception that the committee is trying to keep him out. The DCCC publicly maintains neutrality in most primaries.

“We haven’t heard a word from him since,” Scoles said. “I suspect someone there squelched him.”

In Campisi’s view, any dissatisfaction from 2006 was fueled by the fact that the seat finally seemed winnable for Democrats for the first time in years—and remains that way today.

“People who wanted to run all these years and didn’t feel they could win now think they can run,” he said. But, he said, “anyone who was unhappy about Bryan stepping aisde in 2006 should call the governor. He’s the one who called up Bryan. No one in Delaware County had anything to do with that.”

The X-factor at play is a party leadership fight looming next year. Shortly after the primary, party chairman Cliff Wilson will step aside. Many see Campisi as being groomed as a successor. And both leaders are staying decidedly neutral on the Lentz-Vitali question, wary of alienating supporters of either candidate. Sestak, for his part, also seems to be staying out of it so far.

But the most important question may be whether a primary is a good or bad thing for the party. Lentz supporters want the party to coalesce around him.

“The worst nightmare for me is to have more than one person running,” said Jesson, the Chadds Ford chair. “It’s not going to be an easy race for the Democrats, and the more we can work as a team, the better off we’ll be.”

Vitali supporters think a primary will help whoever eventually wins.

“I think a contested primaries are a good thing,” Scoles said. “They draw attention to candidates. I would like to see this turn into a primary where we could debate some serious issues.”

And if party leaders are leaning in any direction, it’s toward letting whoever wants to run get in the race. Wilson sent just that signal in attending Touey’s announcement in Drexel Hill on Monday.

“There are people like myself who think a primary can energize the party,” he said then. “We’re an open party. I’d like to see a good primary that involves the voters.”

Regardless, Campisi is confident the party will be ready next November to take on former U.S. Attorney Pat Meehan, the likely GOP nominee.

“If your question is will [a primary] impact our ability to keep the seat,” he said, “my answer is no.”

UPDATE: On Thursday morning, Lentz’s campaign announced endorsements from numerous county Democratic insiders.

October 1, 2009 at 7:00 am

--Dan Hirschhorn

Tags: Anthony Campisi, Bryan Lentz, Cliff Wilson, DCCC, Delaware County, E. Teresa Touey, Greg Vitali, Joe Sestak, PA-7, Pat Meehan, Paul Scoles, Peter Jesson

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