You can scratch one big name off the list of candidates for governor of Pennsylvania in 2014.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr., who many people thought would make a run against struggling incumbent Tom Corbett, is out.
He said as much yesterday when he sat down with the Daily Times editorial board for a live-streamed session. Casey didn’t leave himself any wiggle room. He was adamant. He’s not running. I got the impression that Casey was just happy that he does not face the rigors of another campaign for six years, having easily dispatched Tea Party Republican Tom Smith in November. Interestingly enough, Casey’s subdued style of campaigning came under fire from some Democrats, including former Gov. Ed Rendell. Casey dismissed the criticism and easily vanquished Smith, who spent millions of his own money in an attempt to topple one of the legendary names in Pennsylvania politics.
I got the distinct impression yesterday that campaigning is not at the top of the list of Casey’s favorite things to do.
The move by Casey clears the stage for several Democrats to vie for the nomination.
The leader in the clubhouse would seem to be state Treasurer Rob McCord. He easily won re-election and has not exactly made it a secret that he has higher goals.
But the dark horse in all this is former 7th District Congressman Joe Sestak. After stunning his own party with a primary win over longtime Sen. Arlen Specter, the Delco pol lost a tight race to Pat Toomey. But Sestak has never really stopped running. He’s visited just about every part of the state, and has been pushing his presence in the western part of the state by teaching a few classes at Carnegie Mellon University.
It’s not much of a secret that Sestak will wind up running for something again.
All we know now is that he will not have another U.S. senator standing in his way.
If you missed our session with Casey, you can catch the replay here, and also learn why he has changed his stance on gun control.
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