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Howard Cohen’s different candidacy

When friend-of-the-site Alex Roarty first reported that former Thornburgh administration Revenue Secretary Howard Cohen was eyeing a Republican bid in the 6th Congressional District, he wrote that Cohen “sounds markedly different than the rest of the field.”

After a lengthy conversation earlier this week with Cohen, who is poised to enter the race soon, I have to say that Alex got it just right, as usual. I don’t know whether Cohen can gain traction in a crowded primary where one candidate has won elections in the district for years (Curt Schroder) and another is spending loads of his own money to win (Steven Welch). But it’s clear that Cohen has a different type of political narrative he plans to offer, and while I covered most of it in my earlier stories, I just wanted to add a few more thoughts before we move on.

First of all, he’s from the Montgomery County part of the district, which is more typically seen as the area’s stronghold of  Democratic votes. While this might not help him in a primary, it could prove valuable in a general election where a winning Republican really will have to draw at least a handful of votes from the other party’s voters.

Second of all, he’s got different—and frankly, much deeper—public sector experience than the other candidates. Whether now is the right political moment for that is certainly open to debate.

And finally, he just talks differently than the rest of them. I still haven’t met him in person, so I don’t know how this will translate with other voters. But it could prove potent. He talks about the sorry state of political discourse. He acknowledges he can’t outspend Welch. He’s quick to call the district “sprawling” and “gerrymandered,” something other Republicans for whom the district was drawn that way are slower to openly acknowledge. He readily concedes that at 68, he’s way older than the other candidates, but says  that “my dad lived to be 93, and we will outwork any other candidate in the race.”

Don’t get me wrong—Cohen undoubtedly starts this race as an underdog. But there’s also no questioning that a fascinating primary is about to get even more fun.

November 3, 2009 at 6:03 pm

--Dan Hirschhorn

Tags: Howard Cohen, PA-6

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