Congressman Pat Meehan announced he is resigning his seat in Congress and will pay back the $39,000 paid to settle a sexual harassment claim against him.
“With the knowledge I would not be standing for another term, I have decided that stepping down now is in the interest of the constituents I have been honored to serve,” Meehan said in a statement.
“I will pay $39,000.00 to the U.S. Treasury to reimburse for the severance payment that was made from my office account. That payment will be made within 30 days of my resignation from the House of Representatives.”
Meehan announced earlier this year he would not seek re-election after it was revealed he used his office’s budget to settle a sexual harassment claim filed against him by a former staffer.
The announcement gives Governor Wolf 10 days to choose a date at least 60 days after to hold a special election. The special election would be held using the old Congressional maps, not the new maps drawn by the state Supreme Court earlier this year.
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24 Responses
Pat, we hardly knew ye! Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.
Pat, you should pay back the pa taxpayer for the wasted money spent on a special election. You should of just stuck it out, I’m sorry I supported you in the past- LOSER!
Maybe we won’t have a special election. With summer recess, two-week recess for November elections, recess for Thanksgiving and recess for Christmas, there is A LOT of time off relative to remaining time. Not necessarily worth the cost of special election.
Yeah believe it or not David there are actually rules for this you don’t just kinda feel it out and go with the flow..
Republicans – thanks for electing these scuzz balls to office. Be real proud of your professional criminal in the White House too. BRAVO BRAVO
Wow. Do you *Really* need me to link the dozens of articles on the elected democrats in Pa currently sitting in jail for rape and child porn?
Shut your pie hole whacko. Your liberal is showing.
Another loser Rethuglikkkan member calling it quits…although Meehan was actually ‘moderate’ in today’s GOP standards. Good riddance.
So, I’m confused. The Democratic Committee People from the soon-to-be former, 7th district are going to very quickly choose one of the 10 candidates running for the future, 5th district to run in a special election in June or July. The Democratic nominee for the special election will presumably live in the current 7th district which does not include some of the candidates who have filed for the future 5th district. The Democrat chosen for the special election may have an advantage in the May Democratic Primary and in the November election. Is this correct? And the Republican candidate in the special election will be Pearl Kim? Or will we see a new candidate(s) emerge to steal this election in a non-transparent procedure during a closed-door convention?
Confused-
It’s impossible for a Dem candidate to win the old 7th. It’s also impossible for a Republican to win the new 7th.
It doesn’t f*cking matter which candidates are chosen for either party. The outcome is strictly due to party registration advantage.
If Pearl is the GOP pick for a special, there is a 100% chance she will win the special, and 100% that she will lose in November.
Wolf might even decline to hold a special election.
David—
Why is it impossible for a Dem to win in the old 7th if Meehan is not running? Didn’t the 7th go for Clinton in 2016? It’s definitely not as Red as the old 18th/new 14th that Conor Lamb won.
It went for Clinton (barely), but there is no correlation in this district between the top of the ticket and Meehan. This district went for Wolf and Casey even when Meehan won previously.
The Dems who claimed that the old 7th was winnable were idiots or full-of-sh*t to get political business. Nothing short of a redistricting or sex scandal could make the old 7th winnable for Dems. (Ironically, this year we got both)
The old 7th (new 5th) is absolutely going to stay red. At the top of the ticket, Trump hurts (despite being a Democrat in Republican clothing), but the bottom of the ticket will go with Kim.
Don’t forget you don’t *have* to live within the lines of the district you’re running for to run for Congress, so if there’s a special election called that isn’t concurrent with the general election in November the county committee could pick whichever candidate the majority of them like best out of the current crop of candidates for the new PA-5, regardless of whether or not the candidate lives within the old PA-7 lines or not.
oh let’s hope for Lindy Li and her suitcase full of dreams and forged signatures. Think about it…. it could be the forgerers election. Addis v Lee
BTW, if it’s legal, would both parties agree to put up one candidate each, and do a coin flip for each race?
They would never agree to do that.
Given that it has to be at least 60 days, that puts us at the end of June. Congress is in recess 10 weeks of the remaining half of the year. So, the most you get is 15 weeks of lame-duck freshman congressman, who would have to hire staff, set up offices, etc.
That doesn’t take into account how long to certify the election. 30 days?
If you wanted to have the special election occur to match the special election for Charlie Dent’s seat, now you are into the middle or end of July.
Now, you would have them elected/certified during August recess.
There is a case to be made that it isn’t worth the expense.
While the old 7th would definitely pick a Republican, the old 15th could easily pick a Dem given the blue wave.
So, you could likely have either no congressmen or two congressmen of opposite parties who would cancel each other’s votes.
Disappointing, makes me wonder if really more going on here…likely more embarrassing revelations about Pat and his professed love for his soul mate that he does not want to emerge in ethics inquiry.
Tricky Special Election because it would have to be for the old district. Governor should want one. Probably a good move on the part of Meehan to leave. Why stay there at this point? Who would have thought Meehan, Costello, and Dent would not even make it to the Primary? Sad day as it marks the end of the GOP Moderate.
Meehan isn’t a moderate.
Thank God we have the Republican Party to show us the way to a moral life…
There might not be a special election.
There would have to be as there is over 8 months left in the term.
Good move Pat Meehan, maybe I will support you in a future run for US Senate or Governor, but maybe not it depends.