Politics & Government

All Major Republicans Make Presidential Primary; New GOP Challenger for Fattah

Robert Mansfield will run for the 2nd District congressional seat.

All four major Republican presidential candidates made the Tuesday deadline and will battle for the Pennsylvania April primary. In addition, GOP candidates submitted petitions to challenge incumbent Democratic congressmen.

Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum filed petitions Tuesday for the April 24 primary, according to PoliticsPa.com. They continued their campaign to become the GOP challenger to President Barack Obama, who filed for the Democratic primary as the only candidate.

Locally, retired Army sergeant Robert Allen Mansfield was the only Republican to file for the second district congressional seat. Following the primary, Mansfield will challenge nine-term Democratic incumbent Rep. Chaka Fattah. The district covers Northwest Philadelphia, and——will represent most of Lower Merion Township and Narberth in Montgomery County.

Find out what's happening in Ardmore-Merion-Wynnewoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In the Senate, Democratic incumbent Bob Casey faces Joseph Vodvarka in the primary. Five Republicans are vying for the nomination: Sam Rohrer, Steven Welch, Marc Scaringi, Tom Smith and David Christian. Casey defeated then-senator Santorum in 2006, and is finishing up his first term.

The deadline to register to vote in the primary is March 26. Candidates for the General Assembly have until Thursday to file.

Find out what's happening in Ardmore-Merion-Wynnewoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

For the complete state ballot, visit here.

Editor's note: An earlier version incorrectly stated how long Rep. Fattah has been in office. It has been corrected.


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