WAYNE—When he introduced congressional hopeful Bryan Lentz during a fundraiser here Tuesday night, state Senator Daylin Leach (D-Montgomery) had some somber words to say about Lentz’s likely Republican opponent—and some more snarky words for House Republican leader John Boehner.

Mocking Republicans who he said claim to be moderates and then shun bipartisanship in Washington, Leach said of former U.S. Attorney Pat Meehan: “So when you hear this guy get up and talk about what a moderate he is, what a great fit for the southeast he is, what a reasonable republican he is—he’s going to go there, and he’s going to sit in John Boehner’s office, and he’s going to get a reflected-contact-tan just from sitting in that office with John Boehner, and then he’s going to vote the way John Boehner wants him to vote on every single important issue, and don’t let them fool you.”

Video of Leach’s remarks—with his commentary on the Minority Leader’s skin complexion beginning about two minutes in—is embedded above.

WAYNE—State Representative Bryan Lentz (D-Delaware) said Tuesday that his time in Harrisburg had taught him that individual lawmakers can have an impact, and he promised to “do what I believe is right” if elected to Congress next year.

Speaking to supporters during an evening fundraiser at the home of state Senator Daylin Leach (D-Montgomery) here, Lentz reflected upon the one-vote margin Democrats had in the state House when he first came to Harrisburg in 2006.

“What my experience in the state House has taught me, it’s reaffirmed what I learned throughout life, and that’s that invidivuals can make a difference,” Lentz said during brief remarks. “So from a political perspective, who you elect makes a difference.

“If you send me to Washington, you won’t regret it,” he added. “You’ll be proud of me as a congressman.”

In introducing Lentz—and prodding his guests to shell out a few more dollars before the close of the fourth quarter filing deadline this week—Leach called him a “class act.”

“He was one of the leaders of the caucus even as a freshman. … He’s going to be voting the right way on the issues we care about,” Leach said.

Lentz is considered the Democratic front-runner in a primary against environmental lawyer Gail Conner and political consultant E. Teresa Touey. Former U.S. Attorney Pat Meehan is seen as the presumptive Republican nominee, though former Fox29 anchor Dawn Stensland is considering a run.

Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz (D-13), former state Senator Connie Williams and Montgomery County Democratic chair Marcel Groen were all set to attend the event before heavy snowfall forced the campaign to reschedule it for Tuesday.

See a video excerpt of Lentz’s remarks embedded above.

At the time, we couldn’t reach the state Senator from Montgomery County. But Leach spoke to use recently. So now that we’ve published our in-depth dissection of the behind-the-scenes endorsement fight going on in the 6th District primary, here are a couple closing thoughts from Leach himself.

For the record, Leach insists that Connie Williams’ support for Manan Trivedi had nothing to do with his decision.

“It really didn’t play a role,” Leach said. “My decision was made because in local races, as in races where people are running in my district, my usual policy is not to endorse in the primary. That is simply a selfish, self-preservationist policy. In any given year, I could have 100 endorsements I have to give. It could be tough to keep track of and I could upset people unnecessarily.

“I was premature in endorsing Doug, because I didn’t wait to see if there was anyone else in the race,” he added. “I will be happy to support either one of them if they’re the nominee.”

On a different note, he says he won’t be switching his endorsement from gubernatorial candidate Dan Onorato to his local friend Joe Hoeffel—although Hoeffel could have had his support if he’d jumped in earlier.

“I contacted Joe Hoeffel months ago, urged him to run for governor and said I’d support him,” Leach said. “He was not interested at the time. At a certain point, I said, ‘Joe, if you’re not going to commit to running, I’m going to have to go in a different direction.’

“This was not a conditional endorsement where I didn’t know all the facts,” Leach added, contrasting it with a 6th District primary in which he thought Pike was the only candidate. “I knew it was possible Joe would get into the race.”

Meanwhile, he rejects the notion that he’s given anyone else political cover to go neutral in the 6th District.

“I am under no illusion that I have some great power to sway the electorate in this race or any other race,” Leach said. “As to political cover, I’m not sure what political cover is needed. If you’re talking about low-level elected officials, I don’t think any of them are going to lose an election in two years because of an endorsement. I don’t think objectively there’s any political cover gained by what I do. People may see political cover subjectively.”

And lastly… he thinks we’re making way too much of this.

“This is a tempest in a teapot,” Leach said. “The importance of these endorsements is wildly overblown. People don’t vote for people because of individual endorsements.”

On that, we’ll completely agree. But it’s fun inside-baseball to cover, isn’t it?

Anything else we keep in mind about the 6th District, Senator?

“I’m removing myself from this primary.”

Got it.

And here’s why: In his statement, Leach says he’s trying “to adhere to a policy of not involving myself in Democratic primaries within my district.”

Notice the qualifier, “within my district.” Now bear with me here. Leach himself doesn’t live in the 6th. I’m almost positive that his home in Upper Merion is in the 7th. However, some of his 17th Senatorial District is in the 6th.

Regardless, it seems Leach is carefully couching his reasoning here, and I think I might know why: Joe Hoeffel.

Leach endorsed Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato for governor before Hoeffel got into the race. Ever since Hoeffel jumped in, I’ve been wondering if Leach will switch sides, or at least go neutral like he did here. Leach is one of the most vocal social progressives in the state, and Hoeffel is trying to build his appeal on being left of everyone else on social issues. And perhaps more importantly, Hoeffel and Leach are friends. I can’t speak to how close they are personally, but I know they’re close politically, and I’ve always had the impression from seeing them together that, at a minimum, they’re buddies.

So what now? Pulling an endorsement in a gubernatorial race is much more high-profile than doing it in a House race, especially if it means possibly pissing off the next boss. And the “within my district” thing could arguably go either way. Sure, it’s not a local race, but it’s a primary that will be taking place statewide, including, yes, in his district.

I’ve got a call into Leach to ask him about both his latest move and what comes next.

Stay tuned. And let me know what you think by posting a comment.

Shuster’s endorsement was announced in an last week. “Having worked closely with Jim, I know that  he has the work ethic, experience and guiding principles that resonate with the citizens of central and western Pennsylvania,” Shuster said in a statement.

Schuster serves in the federal congress as Deputy Republican Whip and is a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the House Committee on Natural Resources. In July, Schuster opposed the federal Cap and Trade Bill and supported the American Energy Act. The act aimed to reduce carbon emissions by installing 100 new nucleor reactors into the American power grid, increase tax incentives to develop alternative energy sources and urge the federal government to allow leasing to extract oil from the Outer Continental Shelf and the Arctic Coastal Plain.

For  Onorato, the endorsements come from two Senators that represent Philadelphia’s suburbs, both of whom have been actively pushing legislation that would allow Philadelphia to move along with its budget plan.

“Of all the people running for governor by far the most impressive is Dan Onorato,” Leach told The Inquirer.

“He represents a moderate Democratic position which I think will do well in the (Philadelphia) suburbs,” Dinniman said.

Last week, Leach urged the passage of House Bill 1828. The bill would allow Philadelphia to take action to manage its pension problems with unionized city workers, as well as raise Philadelphia’s sales tax by 1 percent over the next five years. The legislation would be a great relief to Mayor Michael Nutter, who has been pushing Harrisburg for such legislation out of the fear that he might have to take drastic measures to reduce Philadelphia’s debt.