In one of the more interesting campaign events of the midterm cycle, the leading Republican candidate for Senate in Pennsylvania will hold a joint town hall meeting with the Democratic primary challenger.
Former Rep. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) accepted an invitation from Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) to hold a town hall at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pa., on September 2.
Sestak, who’s challenging the newly-Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter in a primary, issued the invitation yesterday.
“I want to show you the light on the public health care option!” Sestak told Toomey in a statement. “What do you say?”
Today, the Toomey campaign “eagerly” accepted, going so far as to invite Sestak out for a beer after the meeting.
“I eagerly accept Congressman Sestak’s gracious invitation, and look forward to our respective campaigns working out the logistics over the next couple of days,” Toomey said. “I’m happy to welcome Joe to the great city of Allentown and I’d extend to him an invitation to share a beer with me at one of our fine local establishments after the town hall meeting.”
(Maybe that beer will take place at Rookie’s, the Allentown restaurant that Toomey owns with his brothers.)
This actually looks to be a win-win for the participants. Sestak gets to raise his profile in the campaign, pitting himself front and center against the almost certain Republican general election candidate.
Toomey, on the other hand, gets to throw some coal on the Sestak vs. Specter fire, encouraging a bruising primary that will leave the eventual Democratic victor weakened.
Specter doesn’t seem to be invited to the Allentown town hall, but Toomey issued a challenge for Specter to debate him on a separate occassion.
“Unfortunately, with Senator Specter, one never knows which Arlen Specter will show up