Insisting he has done no wrong and vowing to seek re-election this year, Rep. Pat Meehan, R.-Pa., began last week to launch a counter-offensive to the sexual harassment scandal that has recently enveloped him.
But Republicans from Meehan's 7th District (Delaware-Montgomery Counties) who spoke to Newsmax on background agreed it was next-to-impossible for the four-term lawmaker to survive revelations he had settled charges by a female former aide with thousands in taxpayer dollars.
"He's finished," one veteran Delaware County GOP activist said. "Pat can say all he wants, but there is just no way he can bounce back."
He added it would be an "uphill battle" for Republicans to keep the 7th from falling into Democratic hands. Last year, Democrats swept nearly every countywide office in Delaware and Montgomery Counties.
Although no major Democratic hopeful has emerged, it is almost a foregone conclusion Democrats will now make the 7th a top target in the Keystone State.
The GOP activist spoke to us a day before Meehan — 62, married, and a father of three — spoke of his former aide as a "soulmate" but insisted their relationship was innocent.
With the March 6 filing deadline fast approaching, odds are growing Meehan will announce his retirement. The two most oft-mentioned Republicans to compete for his seat are State Sens. Tom Killion and Tom McGarrigle. Both are from Delaware County, are veterans of its County Council, and are both considered moderate-to-conservative Republicans.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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