Be careful what you wish for, or so the old adage goes.
Are you listening, Delco Democrats.
For years the county Dems griped about the way redistricting split the county into two districts, with a lot of Democratic votes in the city of Chester and portions of the county along the river cut off and into the fiefdom of Philly Democratic boss U.S. Rep. Bob Brady and his 1st District seat on Congress.
The state Supreme Court, as we are all now aware, tossed out those old maps and created one of their own. It puts all of Delaware County under one roof in a new 5th District seat in Congress.
Democrats, who had been pulverized by U.S. Rep. Pat Meehan in three consecutive elections, saw a golden opportunity to win back the seat once held by Joe Sestak.
Meehan is opting not to run, hounded out of office by a report that he used taxpayer money to settle a sex harassment suit filed by a former staffer.
Brady, with his 1st District seat blown up, also has decided he's had enough of Washington, and also will not seek re-election.
The door is wide open for Democrats to seize this new 5th District seat. And that would include a sliver of Montgomery County along the Main Line, as well as a part of South and Southwest Philly. And that's the muddle the county Democrats now are facing.
A Democrat very well might win the seat.
But it just might not be a Delco Dem who wins it.
Yesterday state Sen. Anthony Williams, D-8 of Philadelphia, who also represents some parts of the eastern end of Delaware County, was joined by a group of local elected officials to throw their support behind Rich Lazer, a Philly Democrat and former aide to Philly Mayor Jim Kenney.
There is a small army - no less than 14 candidates - seeking the Dem nomination. Those include Chester Mayor Thaddeus Kirkland, as well as state Reps. Margo Davidson, D-164 of Upper Darby, and Rep. Greg Vitali, D-166 of Haverford. Former Wallingford-Swarthmore School Board member Mary Gay Scanlon, has received an endorsement from former governor and Philly Mayor Ed Rendell.
The problem is that unless the Delco Democrats can unite behind one of their own, this massive field could splinter the vote and open the door for Lazer to win the nomination.
Democrats meet to offer an endorsement in the race Sunday night.
The winner of this Dems' battle royal will face Republican Pearl Kim, who was endorsed by the Delco GOP.
It's interesting to see the way the two sides went about getting behind a candidate.
GOP Chairman Andy Reilly visited with several contenders before the endorsement meeting to let them know the party was going to line up behind Kim, a former county assistant D.A. and former deputy state attorney general.
Those candidates withdrew before the meeting, clearing the deck for Kim to accept the nod.
Don't look for Dems to do the same.
This could get messy.
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