Bob Casey

HARRISBURG — Bob Casey may just have himself to beat next year when he seeks a second six-year term as Pennsylvania’s now-senior U.S. senator.

Casey, 51, has as close to a household name as any politician in the state, thanks in part to his father, the former two-term governor of Pennsylvania. Casey is a Democrat in a state in which registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans four-to-three.

And with a lengthy list of open Senate seats and potentially vulnerable incumbents spread out across the country next year, the Republican Party may have a hard time devoting enough money and resources to whomever the party nominates to challenge Casey.

For now, the GOP strategy is to try to tie Casey to President Barack Obama’s economic policies, which the party calls disastrous. Obama won Pennsylvania handily in 2008 and his major priorities have gotten Casey’s support.

But so far, that strategy hasn’t encouraged any candidate with a high profile to step forward.

“There’s no question in my mind that people are very concerned about Barack Obama. He was a steamroller four years ago,” said Rob Gleason, the state’s Republican Party chairman. “And the Casey name is still important in Pennsylvania.”

No Democratic primary challenger has surfaced, either. Casey, who is strongly backed by labor unions, tailors his message to economic themes when asked why he deserves another term.

“I think primarily that I’ve put the state first, especially when it comes to the economic climate and job creation,” Casey told The Associated Press.

Since his election in 2006 Casey has provided a reliable Democratic vote on the big issues.

For starters, he supported the bank bailouts that began under former President George W. Bush, Obama’s stimulus package and health care overhaul and major changes in financial sector regulations.

He also supported an increase in the minimum wage and an expansion of federal funding for children’s health insurance. He helped write bills to allow the federal government to impose sanctions on countries that manipulate their currency to gain trade advantages and created a one-year tax credit for small businesses that add employees or reverse cutbacks in salaries or hours.

But Casey is critical of Obama’s efforts to seal free trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama. And while he supports Obama’s push to broker a $4 trillion deficit reduction plan with Republicans that cuts spending and wipes out tax breaks, he also said he is worried about the deal including cuts to Medicaid and Medicare.