Allegheny County GOP Chairman Sam DeMarco opts against congressional run

Allegheny County Republican Chairman Sam DeMarco said Tuesday he will not run for Congress this year in Pennsylvania’s 17th District.

DeMarco, a county councilman from North Fayette, said last week that he was mulling a run and gathering petition signatures required to formally enter the race. But on Tuesday he said wanted to focus instead of steering the local Republican Party during the upcoming midterm elections.

“While I’m not ruling it out in the years ahead, it became clear that the party right now needs a full-time chairman who will devote himself 24/7 to making certain that the Republicans recapture the office of governor, secure a U.S. Senate seat and maintain control of the general assembly,” DeMarco said in a statement.

The news came on the same day as the petition filing deadline for candidates.

The 17th District is considered a swing district where both Republicans and Democrats have a chance of winning, according to election analysts. Encompassing Beaver County and much of suburban Allegheny County, the district — redrawn slightly through this year’s redistricting process — has been represented by U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb, D-Mt. Lebanon. Lamb, a U.S. Senate candidate, is not seeking reelection to the U.S. House.

As of Tuesday afternoon, three Republican candidates had turned in their petitions to run in the 17th District: former Ross Commissioner Jeremy Shaffer, national security expert Jason Killmeyer of Pittsburgh and Ben Avon small business owner Kathy Coder.

Democrats that had turned in petitions included Chris Deluzio, an Iraq War veteran and policy director of the University of Pittsburgh’s Institute for Cyber Law, Policy and Security; and Sean Meloy, a senior political advisor for the LGBTQ Victory Fund.