Senate Democrats have gotten their wish in Pennsylvania: someone they hope can stop Joe Sestak and, eventually, Sen. Pat Toomey, R.-Pa.
After weeks of speculation, Katie McGinty, who most recently served as Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf’s chief of staff, announced Tuesday that she is jumping into the race to unseat Toomey, a one-term incumbent.
The Philadelphia native’s entrance in race comes after prodding from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and EMILY’S List, both of which refused to back Sestak, who has long been a thorn in the side of national and state Democrats. Sestak lost to Toomey in 2010.
While McGinty, a former environmental adviser in Bill Clinton’s administration, will likely get the blessing of many state Democrats, she has a difficult road ahead. Sestak defeated incumbent Sen. Arlen Specter in the Democratic primary last time around. While his lackluster fundraising has frustrated Democrats and helped pull McGinty into the race, Sestak still holds a sizable advantage with $2.1 million in cash on hand, despite having raised just $728,000 in the second quarter.
“Clearly, she [would be] a very solid opponent against Joe Sestak in the sense that she’s a favorite of many Democratic Party elites and their connections to campaign contributions. She will be well funded,” said Chris Borick, a political scientist from Muhlenburg College. “She’s seen as someone compared to Sestak that hasn’t lost to Pat Toomey. With that comes a bit of freshness.”
Meanwhile, Toomey, who has been consistently leading head-to-head polls against both candidates, kept up his fundraising prowess as his campaign kicks into high gear, raking in $2.2 million in the second quarter (more than Sestak has overall), giving him $8.3 million in cash on hand heading into the fall.
“It’s going to be a rock’em, sock’em primary before she gets to the general election,” said Charlie Gerow, a Harrisburg-based GOP strategist. “Katie McGinty is a very nice lady, which distinguishes her from Joe Sestak … but she is very, very liberal.”
Gerow added that McGinty will be “tethered” to the policies and proposals of Wolf, who was just rated by the Huffington Post as the most liberal governor in the U.S. However, McGinty doesn’t seem to mind, having name-checked Wolf in her announcement video released early Tuesday.
Last year, McGinty finished fourth of four in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, losing out to Wolf and finishing behind former Rep. Allyson Schwartz and former State Treasurer Rob McCord, who recently pleaded guilty to two counts of extortion. However, McGinty is hoping to knock off Sestak and set up an all-woman ticket for the Democrats next fall.
“Pennsylvania’s never elected a woman to the U.S. Senate,” Borick added. “The historic nature of that possibility … could be quite powerful.”
Her entrance in the race comes at an interesting time, though, as McGinty resigned her post with the governor amid budget talks between Wolf and the GOP-controlled state legislature.
Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski suspended his campaign for the Senate seat in early July due to an FBI investigation into “contracting practices” in the city. Pawlowski had talked to the DSCC prior to getting into the race, but Senate Democrats soon switched their focus to McGinty. She attended the DSCC’s retreat to Martha’s Vineyard in mid-July.
