WASHINGTON — Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Mike Kelly told The Daily Caller Wednesday night he is eyeing a run against Pennsylvania Democratic Senator Bob Casey Jr. next year.
“I’d be lying to you if I said I’m not looking so, sure. I’m looking,” the now four-term Pennsylvania Republican said, later adding he was also interested in checking out the upcoming governor’s race in his state as well.
Kelly pointed to how different Casey’s father, the late Bob Casey Sr., was to his son.
“I think a lot of Pennsylvanians are realizing he’s not our former governor…I’ve never seen anybody have a more a charmed existence than Bob,” he said.
Casey Sr. served as Pennsylvania’s governor and, though a Democrat, he was one of the staunchest pro-life members in the party.
Casey Jr., however, let that family legacy fade with his father. His most recent position on taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood was to oppose the defunding of the pro-abortion organization.
I stand with the 2.5 million people who visit @PPFA each year. @SpeakerRyan reverse course on defunding @PPFA #IStandWithPP
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) January 6, 2017
“I don’t dislike Bob. I think Bob’s a nice guy, but everybody always describes him, ‘You ask what about Bob? He’s a nice guy.’ You say, ‘Give me a little depth.’ Because he is a nice guy. He’s got a nice smile, but I’m trying to figure him out legislatively,” Kelly said.
Casey was one of the first Democratic senators from a state Donald Trump won in 2016 to announce he would not support Trump Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, something Kelly appeared to be aghast by.
After my review it was clear that Judge Gorsuch’s judicial philosophy would stack the deck against workers & families #StopGorsuch
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) April 6, 2017
“It would be hard for me to say, and I don’t care whether you’re a Republican or Democrat, ‘Judge Gorsuch — somehow I couldn’t vote for that guy,’” Kelly told TheDC. “I just think it’s gotten so polarized and that’s one of the things. It just seems to me that that Bob has become very polarized and very partisan.”
Val DiGiorgio, chairman of the Republican Party of Pennsylvania, told The Times Leader Casey “has again aligned himself with the far left.”
Eleven years after he told voters at Catholic University he was pro-life, Casey transformed to “Woke Bob Casey” at a town hall at the Penn Museum in Philadelphia last month. According to Philly.com, it was his first town hall in five years.
“All I can say is, don’t get discouraged,” Casey told the town hall crowd. “Keep fighting! Keep working! Keep marching! Keep demanding answers! We’re going to win some of these fights!”
Kelly also sees himself in a good place for his state telling TheDC, “Where I am right now is a pretty good position to be in, as far as helping with legislation that’s really meaningful.”
He added, “Being on Ways and Means, it’s really a great opportunity. So you say, ‘Well, what would you do differently and what would be in the best interests of Pennsylvania?’ Maybe the best interests in Pennsylvania right now is where I’m at.”
