Meehan expected to seek 7th District seat
Former U.S. Attorney Pat Meehan is expected to announce Monday that he is seeking the Republican nomination to represent the Seventh District in the U.S. House, thrilling party leaders who think he represents the GOP's best chance to get the seat back from the Democrats.
Former U.S. Attorney Pat Meehan is expected to announce Monday that he is seeking the Republican nomination to represent the Seventh District in the U.S. House, thrilling party leaders who think he represents the GOP's best chance to get the seat back from the Democrats.
Meehan is scheduled to make a "major campaign announcement," a spokesman said, beginning with a morning event at his home in Drexel Hill, Delaware County. Meehan is to continue with stops at a factory in Montgomery County and a retirement community in Chester County.
All three sites are within the congressional district, and GOP sources said Meehan would announce that he was running for the House. He had been exploring a run for governor, but abandoned that effort in August to endorse the front-runner, Attorney General Tom Corbett.
The Seventh District seat is coming open because two-term Rep. Joe Sestak is leaving to challenge U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter in next year's Democratic primary.
Political analysts consider the district competitive territory that has trended Democratic in recent years.
State Rep. Bryan Lentz (D., Delaware) is running for the seat, and State Rep. Greg Vitali (D., Delaware) has said he is considering it.
"It will be very competitive, and we will be heavily involved in that race," said Maryland U.S. Rep. Chris Van Hollen, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Meehan was elected Delaware County's district attorney in 1995, and in 2001 was appointed U.S. attorney for Southeastern Pennsylvania, where he oversaw high-profile political-corruption probes in Philadelphia.
He may face a GOP primary challenge from businessman Steve Welch, who has said he wants to run for the seat.
