WASHINGTON –State Rep. Steve Santarsiero, a Bucks County Democrat, has filed papers to run for Congress in 2016, he announced Thursday morning.
Santarsiero will be aiming to replace U.S. Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R., Pa.), who has announced that he won't seek re-election to the eighth district seat. Fitzpatrick holds a competitive seat, set almost entirely in Bucks, that has swung back and forth between Republican and Democratic control.
Notably, Santarsiero's announcement included an endorsement from the local party chairman, something neither Democratic challenger could secure last year in a competitive primary. Democrats wound up nominating Kevin Strouse, a political rookie who had never lived in Bucks and was picked to run by national Democrats, instead of locals. He struggled to win the primary and was trounced in the general election.
"I'm excited to start preparing a campaign to represent the people of Bucks and Montgomery Counties in Congress," Santarsiero, 49, said in a news release. "It's time we make Washington accountable to our citizens. I will make it a priority to focus on keeping the middle class families of the 8th District secure while helping to grow our economy, create jobs and bring real reform to Washington."
His announcement came less than 48 hours after Santarsiero began a new term in Harrisburg and a new Congress was seated in Washington.
A former lawyer, teacher and Lower Makefield township supervisor, he first won his statehouse seat in 2008.
"Steve can win this seat. He just won re-election to the statehouse by a landslide in a swing district in what turned out to be a very bad year for Democrats," John Cordisco, chairman of the Bucks County Democrats, said in the release. "He has a clear track record of winning in a tough district, and that's what we will need to prevail in the 2016 congressional race."
The announcement also included praise from former U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D., Pa.), of Montgomery County. She called his plans "great news for the 8th district and for our Democratic Party."
Santasiero, the release noted, has lived in Bucks County for 19 years.
Shaughnessy Naughton, who ran against Strouse in the 2014 Democratic primary, has shown signs of interest in another run. Last year she created a political action committee, keeping her involved in Congressional politics. On Thursday she told Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call that she is "thinking seriously" about another run.
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