Sestak running for U.S. Senate - and only U.S. Senate

Joe's a go – for Senate.

U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak's staff said today that the Delaware County Democrat is running for the U.S. Senate alone, seeking to knock down reports in state political circles that he planned to keep his options open by circulating nominating petitions at the same time to get on the ballot for reelection to the House and in the Senate primary.

The talk had intensified in recent days after a flurry of new entreaties by party leaders for Sestak should abandon his costly challenge to Sen. Arlen Specter (D.,Pa.), in order to avoid weakening the party for the fall and to keep his Seventh District congressional seat in Democratic hands.

"The congressman is running for the United States Senate and will be filing petitions only for the Senate," spokesman Jonathon Dworkin said.

Talk buzzed among Delaware County Democrats and state party leaders after Sestak's staff earlier this week received congressional nominating petitions from the Pennsylvania Department of State.

Dworkin confirmed that Sestak did get the congressional petitions, as a matter of course. "Every incumbent member of Congress automatically receives the House petitions, but we asked for petitions for the Senate and those are the ones we will be circulating," he said.

Last weekend, Sestak's campaign failed to garner enough votes on the Democratic State Committee to block an official endorsement of Specter, a five-term senator who switched to the party last spring and is supported by the White House, Gov. Rendell and other top leaders.

It takes a supermajority of two-thirds to make a state party endorsement in the primary. Sestak wound up with just under 24 percent of the 306 votes cast, but needed 33 percent plus one to stop Specter from getting the prize.

"I don't think the state committee endorsement reflects the thinking of Democratic primary voters," said Anthony Campisi, vice-chairman of the Delaware County Democratic voters. "Saturday's vote is all about returning favors and knowing people for 30 years."

Legally, Sestak can circulate petitions for both offices, and experts say that there is no prohibition on running for two offices simultaneously. The U.S. Constitution, however, prohibits a member of either house of Congress from holding another position.

The politics of such a move is another matter, however.

A central theme of Sestak's campaign is that Specter's party switch was a matter of opportunism rather than principle, so hedging his own bets would open him to charges of hypocrisy. Several Democratic leaders said that Sestak has discussed the option of running again for the House, but is convinced that he can win the primary in a year marked by anti-incumbent sentiment and frustration with politics as usual.

Sestak continues to trail Specter in head-to-head matchups in most polls. The incumbent's favorability ratings are low among voters overall, but several surveys find Specter's approval ratings in the 60s and 70s among Democrats. Sestak has $5 million on hand, to just under $9 million for Specter.

Recently, state Democratic Chairman T.J. Rooney, of Bethlehem, said that Sestak should abandon his Senate bid and run to keep the House seat, for the good of the party.

"It would have been unfair six months ago to say this," Rooney told the Patriot-News of Harrsiburg. "That was the time to go out and test the water. But we are coming up against it. Will he defeat Arlen Specter in a primary? There is no substantial movement in that direction."

Supporters look at the polls and see Sestak gaining ground with plenty of room to grow, given Specter's approval numbers.

State Rep. Bryan Lentz (D.,Delco) is running for the Democratic nomination for Sestak's congressional seat. He stopped his 2006 campaign for the seat at the request of party leaders who thought Sestak, a former Navy admiral with good fundraising numbers, would make a stronger candidate. Lentz then won election to the state House in a district long-held by Republicans.

The GOP's likely nominee for the Seventh District is former U.S. Attorney Pat Meehan, who ran statewide campaigns for Republican candidates and served as the Delaware County district attorney.

Candidates can begin circulating nominating petitions next Tuesday and have until March 9 to get the required signatures. It takes 1,000 signatures to win a spot on the ballot as a candidate for U.S. House; for the Senate, the requirement is 2,000 signatures.

Contact staff writer Thomas Fitzgerald at 215-854-2718 or tfitzgerald@phillynews.com.