Tim Burns, a wealthy former executive of a bio-tech company and former congressional candidate from western Pennsylvania, met with the National Republican Senatorial Committee last week about a possible campaign against Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., his adviser tells Hotline On Call.
"Tim is exploring his options for public service," said Ray Zaborney, a Harrisburg-based Republican strategist who accompanied Burns when he met with the NRSC.
His potential emergence is welcome news for Pennsylvania Republicans, who have thus far failed to recruit a credible opponent for the first-term Casey in what will likely be a 2012 presidential battleground. But he's not a panacea.
Burns, who lives about 30 miles southwest of Pittsburgh, was twice an unsuccessful congressional candidate last year. In a May special election to replace the late Rep. John Murtha in the state's 12th Congressional District, Burns fell to Democratic nominee Mark Critz by more than 7 percentage points, a disappointing result for Republicans in a race many they thought they could win. Burns ran again in the general election - just six months later -- and came much closer to victory, losing by fewer than 3,000 votes. But he still failed to take advantage of the conservative wave that helped five fellow GOP challengers topple Democratic incumbents in the Keystone State that year.
The 12th District sprawls across much of southwest Pennsylvania, including Johnstown, Murtha's hometown. It has a roughly two-to-one registration advantage for Democrats, but many of the district's blue-collar members have long voted Republican in national elections. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., won the district narrowly in 2004; President Obama essentially split it with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in 2008.
Still, Burns's profile as a self-made businessman from western Pennsylvania could provide an inviting contrast for Republicans with Casey. The incumbent has aligned himself closely with Obama's policies the last three years, and the president's approval ratings have sagged in the Keystone State. 50 percent of residents do not think he deserved re-election, a Quinnipiac University poll released last week found. The same poll found Casey, whose opposition to abortion-rights and connection to his late father, former Gov. Robert Casey, helps him retain appeal among blue-collar voters, leading a generic Republican 47 percent to 35 percent.
"Tim ran for Congress last year because he truly believed that the country was headed in the wrong direction and it still is, with high unemployment and a President and U.S. Senator who clearly have no idea how to fix the economy," Zaborney said. "So if there is an opportunity for him to serve his country and change the direction of the Nation and Pennsylvania in a positive way, he is open to it."
Burns is the second possible Senate candidate to surface this month - Politico reported last week that former congressional candidate Steve Welch, himself a wealthy former business owner from outside of Philadelphia, is also contemplating a campaign. Both men's interest is a sign Pennsylvania Republicans might finally find a credible opponent to Casey after struggling for nearly a year to attract a candidate. Pennsylvania Reps. Jim Gerlach, Charlie Dent, and Tim Murphy and state Sen. Jake Corman each passed on a campaign, leaving many in-state GOP insiders to question if the party would find a challenger with any kind of chance of defeating Casey.
Marc Scaringi, a former aide to former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., who casts himself as the tea party candidate of choice, is already seeking the GOP nomination.
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