The 7th District House race gets attention from the state’s Attorney General

Jim Schneller joined the 7th District House race between Brian Lentz and Pat Meehan, despite accusations by Meehan that Lentz workers helped Schneller falsify signatures on his entry forms. Now Schneller wants someone to look into Meehan’s entry petitions.

The Pennsylvania attorney general’s office is investigating nominating petitions filed by an independent candidate for the Delaware County congressional seat being vacated by Democrat Joe Sestak.

Sestak is leaving the house to run for the U.S. Senate. Democratic State Rep. Brian Lentz is battling Republican former prosecutor Pat Meehan for the seat, but this summer independent candidate Jim Schneller entered the race.

Though Schneller might be described as a constitutional conservative, some of his nominating petitions were circulated by Democratic activists, apparently hoping he’ll drain votes from Meehan. Now accusations that some of the signatures were forged have prompted an investigation by the state attorney general.

Schneller says his stuff is clean.

“I deny any kind of wrongdoing or forgery in the petitions that I filed,” he says.

News of the investigation came as Schneller went to court hoping to force the AG to conclude a separate investigation of alleged irregularities involving Meehan’s petitions.