Attorney George Badey, of Radnor, continues his steady march toward officially declaring his candidacy for Congress as a Democrat and challenging incumbent Congressman Pat Meehan, a Republican, in the 7th Congressional District.
Badey tells me today that he continues to concentrate on gathering signatures on his candidacy petitions ahead of Tuesday's filing deadline. He appeared comfortable in getting more than enough signatures.
Badey, chair of the Radnor Democratic Committee, indicated that he will wait until after the filing deadline to declare his candidacy in a formal event and that it may not be immediately after the deadline.
The Meehan campaign responded today to how the race is shaping up. Campaign spokesperson John Elizandro says, "Congressman Meehan is focused on his agenda to create jobs and strengthen our economy, and he looks forward to a vigorous campaign with whomever is nominated."
The race is likely to get a lot more direct. Assuming Meehan and Badey become the nominees, this could be among the area's most active races with clear distinctions of political philosophy.
As for the 7th District itself, Democrat Joe Sestak had the job in Congress, having defeated Republican Curt Weldon, but Sestak decided not to seek a third term in 2010. Republican Meehan entered the race and easily won his first term.
The 7th is newly drawn after the last census. While the district still includes Delaware County and its large population, it on the books appears more Republican than before. It now includes Delaware County and parts of Chester, Lancaster, Berks and Montgomery Counties. However, Democrats say Barack Obama still got more votes in 2008, about 4 percent, within the new district lines than John McCain.
