Meehan tops Lentz in 7th District

Democratic U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak's victory over 10-term Republican U.S. Rep. Curt Weldon in 2006 was a huge shift in Delaware County politics.

But after only two terms, Sestak set his sights on the Senate, and the GOP took back the 7th District seat Tuesday night, with Republican former U.S. Attorney Pat Meehan handily defeating Democratic state Rep. Bryan Lentz.

Lentz called Meehan around 10 p.m. to concede.

Some Delco Democrats are already grumbling, saying that the scheme by Lentz's supporters to put right-wing "birther" Jim Schneller on the ballot to split the conservative vote may have turned off enough voters to cost Lentz the election.

Given Meehan's margin of victory, that seems unlikely, but needless to say, the Schneller plan backfired on the Democrats. Big time.

At about 10 p.m., Meehan came down into a packed ballroom hand in hand with his wife. He was grinning ear to ear and shaking hands with supporters. When asked about how his victory feels he said, "I feel wonderful, it's exciting," before taking the stage to address his supporters.

"I certainly respect him as an opponent and I'm very grateful for his very dignified call this evening," Meehan said of Lentz. "We both discussed the the shared interest and the tremendous challenges we face as a nation.

Meehan talked about the importance of solving the unemployment issues and getting people back to work.

"People will be looking for solutions, looking for answers and we will fight to restore them," Meehan said.