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Challenging Gerlach, Welch will stay in the race

Republican Steven Welch said Thursday that he is continuing his campaign in the 6th Congressional District, setting up a potentially bloody primary battle with incumbent Congressman Jim Gerlach.

“People are looking for new direction,” Welch told pa2010.com. “People realize that the only way to rebuild the party is through new faces and a fresh perspective.”

Welch’s decision, disclosed first in an interview with PoliticsPA and later in an e-mail to supporters, was the first time since Gerlach shook the primary field by deciding to seek reelection that the Phoenixville businessman had explicitly made his intentions clear. But his campaign had increasingly indicated that he was staying in the race, from releasing recent campaign finance numbers to hosting phone banks on behalf of the Republican candidate in this week’s special election in Massachusetts.

“Nothing really has changed on our part from day one,” Welch insisted. “I got into this race for very different reasons than most people. I think we need to bring more people into the party, to grow the party, and show the American people why our ideas can help create jobs.”

By opting to stay in, Welch has set up a primary battle with an unusual dynamic: a challenger who is likely to outspend his incumbent opponent. Welch made millions as a biotech entrepreneur, and has already loaned his campaign over half-a-million dollars. Gerlach, meanwhile, mostly emptied his federal campaign coffers to help fund a gubernatorial run that he abandoned earlier this month. A more precise picture of both their war chests will emerge when campaign finance reports are filed at the end of the month, but it seems likely that in self-funding the bulk of his race, Welch will outspend Gerlach. It remains unclear to what extent the National Republican Congressional Committee—which has voiced support for Gerlach—will spend money on his primary race.

The news is also a lift for Democrats, who were lamenting that one of their best chances for capturing a House seat in the state had dimmed when Gerlach came back into the picture. Now, even if Gerlach beats Welch in May, he will almost certainly see his financial resources depleted going into the general election. Word of Welch’s decision had barely hit the blogosphere before Democratic operatives were passing it around with glee.

“This development is great news for the Pike Campaign, and puts us in an even stronger position to win the general election in November,” Andrew Eldredge-Martin, the campaign manager for Democratic candidate Doug Pike, wrote in an e-mail to supporters.

The move by Welch also came four months after he moved his campaign from the 7th District to the 6th. He lives a stones-throw across the river from the more gerrymandered 6th, but stepped aside in the 7th in favor of former U.S. Attorney Pat Meehan. He has since said the 6th is a better fit for him, considering his upbringing in Chester County and his business interests there. And while he insists there was no pressure on him to exit yet another race when Gerlach came back—”nobody’s asked me to step aside for Jim Gerlach,” he said—his decision puts him at odds with at least a significant part of the local and national party establishment.

“It’s certainly an uphill battle, but it’s one that’s worth fighting,” Welch said.

And the victory of a Republican state Senator in Massachusetts this week would seem to imply there is political space for an anti-establishment challenge like the one Welch is mounting.

“This comes back to the political environment,” Welch said. “You’re seeing people much more involved in the political realm than they ever have been. There’s much more support for people from outside the system.”

Gerlach, for his part, has said he welcomes any challengers.

“I totally understand their desire to run for this seat and their willingness to serve, and I applaud them for that,” Gerlach said earlier this month of the several Republicans who had lined up for a run at his seat. “And if they want to stay in the primary and offer their experience to the voters, I think that would be great.”

Going forward, one variable is just how much party support Welch can garner. Republicans in the district who had supported state Representative Curt Schroder (R-Chester) were dismayed when he dropped out following Gerlach’s return, and may be ripe for the picking.

“For too long, both parties have sent people to Washington who believe they’re the solution,” Welch said. “I don’t believe that. I believe the solutions lie in our communities. … This is about a year in which people are looking for a different type of candidate than they have before.”

January 21, 2010 at 2:54 pm

--Dan Hirschhorn

Tags: Jim Gerlach, PA-6, Steven Welch

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