US Senator Pat Toomey (R) of Pennsylvania announced at a press conference on Monday morning that he will not run for re-election in 2022. He said the decision was personal as he will have served for 18 years in Washington and wanted to spend more time with family.
This decision came as a surprise as many did not expect him to announce until after the presidential election in November. But Toomey pointed out he wanted to give those who were stuck between running for his seat and the governor seat to have time to decide.
Another reasoning for his choice to bow out was that Toomey has honored a term limit pledge. When he represented the Lehigh Valley in Congress, he declined to run for re-election after three terms. Toomey made the same pledge when he ran for Senate in 2010, promising to only serve two terms.
During his press conference, Pat Toomey was asked if had any fears of losing in 2022 which may have caused him to make his announcement. He sharply responded, “I’ve been in five tough, competitive general elections. Three in the 15th Congressional district and two in Pennsylvania. I’ve won all five of them. I think if I decided to run, I would’ve won again.”
You can see the full press conference here:
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With a soon to be open Senate seat in a purple state like Pennsylvania, it’s unclear which party will have the advantage come 2022. It will most likely come down to whoever wins the presidential election. If President Trump wins re-election, you can expect a heavy push by Democrats to flip the seat and attempt to take control of the Senate.
Here is a short list of names who could run for the Senate seat in 2022:
John Fetterman, Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania (D)
Conor Lamb, Represenative from Pennsylvania’s 17th Congressional District (D)
Katie McGinty, 2016 Pennsylvania Senate Candidate (D)
Lou Barletta, Former Representative and 2018 Pennsylvania Senate Candidate (R)
Scott Perry, Representative from Pennsylvania’s 10th Congressional District (R)
Sean Parnell, Candidate for Pennsylvania’s 17th Congressional District (R)
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