Tom Waring, the Wire
State Rep. Steve Santarsiero, a Democrat running next year for the 8th Congressional District seat, last week announced the first hires for the race.
The 8th Congressional District will be an open seat in 2016 with the retirement of Republican Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick.
Santarsiero will face Shaughnessy Naughton, a scientist and owner of a family publishing business, in the primary. She ran in 2014, but lost in the primary by 817 votes to Kevin Strouse, who had most of the party behind him. Strouse went on to lose to Fitzpatrick. Naughton has been endorsed by former Gov. Ed Rendell.
No Republican has announced a bid.
Santarsiero named Gabrielle Quintana Greenfield as his campaign manager.
“I’m excited to work alongside a candidate like Steve. He is someone with a record of getting results for his community and his constituents. He has a record of winning tough races and a significant base of support in the district. That combination makes him the strongest candidate to win this open seat, and I look forward to sharing his message with voters who are hungry for leadership like Steve’s,” she said.
Santarsiero for Congress will be working with Raghu Devaguptapu, a partner at AL Media.
Anna Greenberg, of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner, will handle polling. Her track record includes successful campaigns around the country, including her work for Gov. Tom Wolf and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Dean Levitan, of The Pivot Group, will take care of Direct Mail Consulting. He’s a Richboro native.
Aubrey Montgomery, of Rittenhouse Political, will focus on fundraising consulting. She has served as the finance director for the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, Allyson Schwartz’s campaign for governor and Bryan Lentz’s Delaware County congressional campaign.
The Cook Political Report has named the district a tossup.
Santarsiero is a lawyer and former teacher at Bensalem High School. He was elected a Lower Makefield Township supervisor in 2003 and later became chairman,
In 2008, he won an open seat in the Pennsylvania House. He represents Newtown, Morrisville and Yardley in the General Assembly.
Santarsiero and his wife, Ronni, have three children, Nancy, Billy, and Johnny.
