Over the past two weeks, a number of pieces on PennLive have been devoted to the race for the U.S. Senate. As Chairman of the Republican Party of Pennsylvania, allow me to add my voice to the conversation.
When all is said and done this November, Pat Toomey will be re-elected to the United States Senate.
First, all three of the Democratic challengers will endure a messy and costly primary that will expose their weaknesses and faults.
Already, the hand-picked establishment candidate Katie McGinty has come under fire for lying about receiving campaign contributions from the oil and gas industry, underscoring her long revolving door career of moving between official government and corporate positions for her own personal financial benefit.
McGinty also has to answer for her failed leadership in the Commonwealth’s ongoing budget crisis, which saw her leave her post and run for office instead of fixing the mess she left behind.
This may explain why, despite the numerous endorsements from the Democratic political machine, McGinty’s support has been shockingly lackluster. When it comes to grassroots support and fundraising, former Senate candidate Joe Sestak looks to have McGinty beat on both ends, which would have been unthinkable six months ago.
To illustrate, on the same day McGinty was dining in D.C. with party leaders, Sestak overwhelmingly won the endorsement of the Chester County Democrats by a factor of almost six to one. McGinty only had one more vote than long-shot, far-left challenger John Fetterman in her own home county.
Meanwhile, Sestak remains despite his far-left views that sent the Democratic establishment in both Washington, D.C. and Harrisburg scrambling to find nearly anybody else last year to run for the seat.
Already this cycle, Sestak has managed to claim that ISIS “is almost out of gas” and defended Iran because the rogue regime “met its end of the deal.”
Given this severe dysfunction, it’s no wonder my counterpart from the Pennsylvania Democratic Party has said he believes Fetterman could be their strongest nominee out of the three.
And if that isn’t enough, observers have noted the rise of Bernie Sanders is already pushing the Pennsylvania Democrats further to the left, with candidates voicing various levels of support for the idea of government-run single-payer healthcare.
This will clearly be a race to the bottom on the Democratic side. Sestak is a former failed candidate for U.S. Senate who even Democratic Congressman Bob Brady admitted “was not scaring anyone” as a candidate. Katie McGinty garnered just 7 percent of the Democratic vote in her last race for statewide political office, good for last place.
On the other hand, Pat Toomey has been an exemplary leader on critical issues such as making it easier for small businesses to create jobs, holding Iran accountable for their reckless behavior, and standing with our law enforcement officers to make our communities a safer place to live.
Pat’s priorities are Pennsylvania’s priorities. He has been a constructive conservative who stands by his beliefs but also recognizes opportunities to find common ground and get real solutions signed into law
With this reputation earned in his first term, Toomey’s electoral strength is getting recognized among national elections experts as well.
Political observers such as the Cook Political Report and the Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report all see the race as leaning in Senator Toomey’s favor.
The contrast could not be more clear heading into election season. Pat Toomey is in the exact position he needs to be in right now to win re-election in November.
The Republican Party of Pennsylvania is excited to work on his behalf, as we send an outstanding public servant back to the United States Senate.
To read the full column on PennLive.com, please click here.
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