U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey has decided not to run for reelection or for governor of Pennsylvania in 2022, according to two people familiar with his plans, a surprise decision by the Republican with significant implications for the state’s next elections.
He is planning to serve out his current Senate term but won’t run for either of those offices, seemingly ending his career in elected office, at least for now. A formal announcement is expected Monday.
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As the only Republican holding statewide office other than judges, Toomey was widely seen as the likely Republican favorite for governor in 2022. His decision not to run for that office or for Senate could create two wide-open contests on the Republican side, while depriving the party of running its most established current political figure in Pennsylvania.
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Most political insiders had expected that Toomey, 58, would wait until after the 2020 election to decide his future. It was not immediately clear why he had decided to make an announcement now, weeks before the Nov. 3 presidential election.
Toomey’s surprise decision comes at an already tumultuous and perilous time for Republicans in Washington. President Donald Trump is hospitalized with the coronavirus. Three GOP senators have also contracted the virus, which could hamper the party’s push to install Judge Amy Coney Barrett on the Supreme Court. And Trump and fellow Republicans face increasingly dire poll numbers, threatening their hold on both the White House and Senate.
“It’s incredibly surprising,” said Charlie Gerow, a Republican consultant in Harrisburg. “It throws dozens of wild cards into the mix.”
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Toomey’s absence from the ballot in 2022 could also create an easier path for Democrats hoping to hold the governor’s office and flip his competitive Senate seat. Toomey has won his two Senate elections by the slimmest of margins, but is experienced in statewide races and is a savvy campaigner with significant cash in his campaign account.
However, since his 2016 election he has also become a lightning rod for liberals who have criticized him for, in their view, not standing up strongly enough to Trump. Since that year, protesters have regularly held events outside his offices. If Toomey had run again, he would almost certainly have drawn far more vehement opposition than he has faced in either of his previous statewide campaigns.
Toomey’s decision not to run for Senate isn’t entirely surprising. He has long supported term limits and before his 2016 reelection campaign said it was “likely” to be his last Senate bid.
Toomey also has fulfilled some longtime goals during the Trump presidency, including playing a major role in writing the 2017 bill that cut taxes and rewrote key pieces of the tax code. Earlier this year, he helped craft major provisions in Congress' coronavirus rescue package.
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That’s now off the table, leaving no clear Republican favorite for either the senate or gubernatorial races in 2022. If Toomey were to leave office early, Wolf, a Democrat, could appoint his replacement, likely altering the narrow political balance in the chamber.
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He had long signaled discomfort with Trump, refusing to say whether he would vote for his party’s nominee for president until hours before polls closed in 2016. In the end, he voted for Trump. He has also at times criticized the president’s behavior and rhetoric.
But he has largely backed Trump’s agenda and appointments, and has supported his party’s push to quickly fill a Supreme Court vacancy before Election Day. That was a reversal of the position he took in 2016, when he cited an election eight months away in opposing a confirmation vote for President Barack Obama’s nomination of Judge Merrick Garland to the high court. Republicans now argue this opening is different because the same party now controls the White House and Senate.
There was no indication that his announcement would affect his Supreme Court vote. (cont…..)
Staff writer Catherine Dunn contributed to this article
Jonathan Tamari, William Bender
Published
October 4, 2020
https://fusion.inquirer.com/politics/pennsylvania/pat-toomey-reelection-pennsylvania-governor-race-20201004.html