2 may join race for U.S. Senate
CRANBERRY TWP — Both 17th U.S. House District candidates from the last election are expected to run for a U.S. Senate seat in 2022.
The 17th District includes part of Cranberry Township.
Rep. Conor Lamb, a Democrat, and Sean Parnell, his Republican challenger, are rumored to be tossing their hats in the proverbial ring for the seat of retiring Sen. Pat Toomey, a Republican, for the 2022 election.
Neither Lamb nor Parnell have officially announced their candidacies for the Senate — 11 Democrats and eight Republicans have registered — and neither returned a request for comment Tuesday.
Political news magazine Politico reported Friday the incumbent congressman told some donors and supporters he “is likely” to enter the race for Toomey's seat, noting however there is no timeline for the announcement. A source told them Lamb has no imminent plans to enter the race.
Lamb has been rumored to have his eye on the Senate seat for months, although he has not explicitly gone public with any intention to do so.“I will be thinking about it,” Lamb told the Eagle in January. “I'm not thinking about it a whole lot right now, because we're in the middle of a pandemic and I have a job to do in the House.”The Democrat first ran for the House in a 2018 special election caused by the departure of former Rep. Tim Murphy, a Republican, who resigned in October 2017 after news reports that he had an extramarital affair and, despite being pro-life, urged his mistress to have an abortion. Lamb won that 2018 election by a narrow 750-vote margin over Republican challenger Rick Saccone, and retained his seat with a 56% to 44% victory over Keith Rothfus that November. In 2020, he beat Parnell by a roughly 10,000-vote margin.Between Jan. 1 and March 31 of this year, Lamb has raised more than $510,000 designated for his primary election war chest, more than doubling the $216,741 he raised in the same time in 2019.Of the 11 Democratic candidates who have announced for the Senate seat, the most recognizable names are Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, who has nearly a $2 million war chest, and state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, D-181st, of Philadelphia.
Unlike the crowded Democratic pack, Parnell sees one large player in the Republican field — businessman and former lieutenant governor candidate Jeff Bartos, who has more than $1.1 million in the campaign bank — and a handful of lower-profile candidates.Politico confirmed Parnell's interest in a Senate run Sunday, when a spokesman for his 2020 campaign indicated Parnell is “measuring the terrain” for a potential run.During his 2020 run for the U.S. House, Parnell out-raised Lamb in two consecutive quarters, eventually ending the campaign with about $200,000 cash on hand.Toomey's seat is up for election in 2022. The senior senator from Pennsylvania, Democrat Bob Casey, will face reelection in 2024.
