Politics & Government

PoliticsPA: Corbett Throws Support Behind Malvern Resident

The governor urged party insiders to support Charlestown resident Steve Welch in his run for US Senate.

Pennsylvania's Republican governor has thrown his support behind Chester County native Steve Welch in the U.S. Senate primary race, according to politicspa.com. Welch is one of five candidates vying for the opportunity to challenge Sen. Bob Casey in the fall.

According to an article posted Thursday on the site:

Governor Tom Corbett called southeast Pennsylvania GOP leaders Wednesday afternoon to ask for their support for U.S. Senate hopeful Steve Welch, several county chairmen and Republican state committee members told PoliticsPA. [...]

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

But his decision to back Welch – made the same day as the southeast Pa. caucus meeting – was too fast for many state committee members in the region. The caucus declined to hold a straw poll vote during their meeting Wednesday night.

The Associated Press is also reporting the endorsement, via Philly.com:

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

Chester County GOP Chairman Valentino DiGiorgio said he heard from the governor's staff on Wednesday about Corbett's decision. Party committee members from southeastern Pennsylvania heard the Senate candidates speak at a Valley Forge forum on Wednesday night, but have not settled on a candidate to back, DiGiorgio and others said.

"There's not a great deal of name ID and name recognition for the candidates, so there's still a lot of questions," Delaware County GOP Chairman Andrew J. Reilly said.

The state party's endorsement meeting is Jan. 28; the primary is April 24.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Malvern