Brian Kelly wanted to be a congressman. He lost.
He wanted to be Wilkes-Barre’s mayor. He lost.
Now he wants to be a congressman, then a U.S. senator after his first term in the House is up.
I’m not making this up.
Mr. Kelly, the retired IBM systems engineer and information technology consultant, announced today he’s running against U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright for Congress. If he wins, in his second year in office, 2018, he’ll run for U.S. Sen. Bob Casey’s seat. He’s assuming Mr. Casey won’t seek re-election.
“When Bob Casey Jr. steps down from office at the end of his second term in 2018, with your grace, I will have served one full term in the House of Representatives,” Mr. Kelly said in a news release announcing his bids. “Then, I will be sworn into office as a U.S Senator on January 3, 2019. This will be for a six-year term ending on January 3, 2025. That is my plan.”
He loves America, he said, and wants to “save our country from both the political class and the donor class.”
“Together, they are in the process of systematically destroying America. Barack Obama, Matt Cartwright, and Bob Casey, Jr. are in their ranks. None of them care about Pennsylvania or Pennsylvanians. They say that we cling to our religion and our guns. They have all contributed to the demise of the U.S.A. with their love for illegal immigration and their far reaching regulations that have crippled our economy. It is my deep love for this country as much as I see that our politicians do not, that motivates me to put my hat in two rings at the same time.”
This is the first we’ve heard that Mr. Casey won’t run for a third term in 2018.
It would be a shocker. I didn’t think it’s true and it’s not.
John Rizzo, a spokesman for Mr. Casey’s re-election campaign, called Mr. Kelly’s assertion about Mr. Casey stepping down “silly.”
“Sen. Casey is running for reelection in 2018 because he believes there’s more work to be done to raise middle class incomes, grow our economy and ensure every child has an opportunity to receive high quality early learning opportunities,” Mr. Rizzo said.
In the meantime, let’s remind people who Mr. Kelly is.
In 2010, he ran for the Democratic nomination to the 11th Congressional District seat that Rep. Paul Kanjorski held at the time. Lackawanna County Commissioner Corey O’Brien ran in the same primary. Mr. Kelly received 11,519 votes total. Mr. O’Brien finished second 10,633 votes behind Mr. Kanjorski.
You can certainly make the argument that Mr. Kelly’s votes cost Mr. O’Brien the election. You can also argue, perhaps even more convincingly, that if Mr. O’Brien had defeated Mr. Kanjorski, he might have beaten Republican Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta, though Mr. Barletta was better known and 2010 was a Republican wave year. Voters had definitely tired of Mr. Kanjorski.
Last year, Mr. Kelly ran in Wilkes-Barre’s Democratic mayoral primary against City Councilman Tony George, a former police chief, City Councilman George Brown, a retired business management executive, and community activist Darlene Duggins-Magdalinski.
Mr. George won, defeating Mr. Brown by 151 votes. Mr. Kelly received 242 votes, Ms. Duggins-Magdalinski, 186 votes.
Again, you can argue either Mr. Kelly’s votes or Ms. Duggins-Magdalinski’s cost Mr. Brown the election, and you’d find a lot of people in Mr. Brown’s camp agreeing with you.
To sum up, Mr. Kelly perhaps is better so far at costing others a chance at victory than winning himself.
— BORYS KRAWCZENIUK
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Updated: Brian Kelly wants to be a congressman and a U.S. senator
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