Committed conservative thinks he can pull off upset in Pa. GOP Senate primary

Among the five Republicans competing for the chance to take on Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey in the fall is Marc Scaringi, a Harrisburg lawyer who was an aide to Rick Santorum when he served in the U.S. Senate.

Scaringi was the first candidate to jump into the Republican Senate primary a year and a half ago. At a recent debate, he said he wants to get to Washington to “defeat and de-fund the Casey-Obama agenda,” starting with the Affordable Care Act.

“Obamacare is the prime example of this out-of-control, big government, central-planning organization down there in Washington, D.C., that wants to run your life, and my life, and our business,” Scaringi said. “And they’re running it into the ground.”

In a field of conservatives, Scaringi stands out — he favors term limits, a balanced budget amendment, elimination of the income tax, and a return to the gold standard. And he says Casey and Obama have made reckless commitments in foreign policy.

“Sen. Casey is for providing U.S. taxpayer dollars to the Syrian rebel opposition group,” Scaringi said. “The Syrian opposition is comprised of liberals, socialists, Islamists, and now al-Qaida.”

U.S. intelligence officials have expressed concerns about the makeup of the Syrian opposition. In February, Casey co-sponsored a resolution calling for material and technical support for groups opposing the regime.

Scaringi brings passion and energy, but not a lot of money or political backing, to the race. He said after the debate he thinks he can compete with a field that includes Bucks County businessman David Christian; two millionaires, Tom Smith and Steve Welch; and Sam Rohrer, an 18-year legislator with name recognition.

“I’ve been traveling all over Pennsylvania since October of 2010, meeting with as many Pennsylvanians as I can and establishing that strong grass-roots network,” Scaringi said. “And I think with five candidates in the race, it’s going to split the vote up quite a bit.”

The winner of the Tuesday primary will face Democrat Casey in the fall.

You can hear more of Marc Scaringi in the Philadelphia debate by playing the audio above.