As you might imagine, the list of potential candidates who might consider taking a run at Republican U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey’s seat in 2022 is growing by the minute, but two local legislators and a former U.S. House member are among those being mentioned.

Toomey announced in October that he would not be seeking re-election after the completion of his second six-year term at the end of 2022. Toomey lives in Upper Saucon Township, Lehigh County. He is just the second person to hold this office from the five-county Times News area. The other was Richard Brodhead of Easton, who served from 1851-57.

Among those being mentioned as potential candidates are Republican U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, whose district includes all of Carbon and Schuylkill counties; Democrat U.S. Rep. Susan Wild, whose district includes all of Northampton and Lehigh counties and part of southern Monroe County, and former Republican U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent, whom Wild succeeded, after Dent resigned in 2018 without completing his term.

At this point, none of the three is considered a particularly strong candidate, but that could change by the time the election season opens in earnest two years from now.

In addition to this key Senate seat being up for grabs, both parties will be salivating over the governor’s spot, which also will be on the ballot. Democrat Gov. Tom Wolf also will leave office at the end of 2022 after having served two four-year terms, the limit for this office. By the way, there are no term limits for members of Congress, even though I believe there should be.

The candidate getting the most buzz for the Senate seat on the Democratic side Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, who has been profiled by Rolling Stone, Gentlemen’s Quarterly (GQ) and Slate. Fetterman came in third in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in 2016.

The quirky 6-foot-8-inch former mayor of Braddock in Allegheny County has risen from relative obscurity because of his aggressive pushback against Republican legislative criticism of how the Wolf administration has handled the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, he has been portrayed as Wolf’s pit bull.

Fetterman’s social media profile parallels the attention he has been getting as his Twitter followers grew by nearly 50% from mid-November until early December.

Although Fetterman is largely unknown in our area, he did get considerable attention in 2019 when he embarked on a statewide listening tour about whether to legalize marijuana for recreational purposes. He found a majority of Pennsylvanians favored decriminalizing use of this drug in small quantities, and this recommendation was made by Wolf also as a way to restock the depleted state treasury that has been decimated by the pandemic.

Although Fetterman has indicated he is open to running for either key seat, a more likely fit would be for him to pursue Toomey’s seat since state Attorney General Josh Shapiro appears to be the front-runner for the Democrats’ gubernatorial nomination. Shapiro won re-election to a four-year term this year.

Two other Democrat U.S. representatives are being mentioned as potential Senate candidates - Chrissy Houlahan of Chester County and Conor Lamb of Allegheny County.

Lamb has been impressive because of capturing a heavily red district in a special election in 2018, then coming back this year to retain the seat in the face of heavy down-ballot successes by the Republicans. Houlahan won by 12% in her suburban Philadelphia district. Both Lamb and Houlahan are moderates, which would play well in the more conservative areas of the Keystone State.

Other Republican names being floated in addition to Meuser and Dent are former U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, who lost to U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., in 2018. Some insiders tell me that Barletta, the former mayor of Hazleton and a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump, is a long shot after his mediocre showing against Casey, but others say that if Barletta brands himself as a Trump surrogate he might find a favorable audience among Pennsylvania conservatives. Also being mentioned is Jim Christiana of Beaver County, who lost to Barletta in the 2018 primary.

In the forefront of the GOP candidates is state Sen. Jake Corman of Centre County, who was recently elected the president pro tempore of the Senate. Also mentioned prominently is U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Bucks County, who bucked the Democrats’ successes this year in suburban Philadelphia.

Other GOP potentials are state Rep. Martina White of Philadelphia, Chester County Commissioner Michelle Kichline, former U.S. Rep. Ryan Costello, former gubernatorial candidate Paul Mango and unsuccessful 2018 lieutenant governor candidate Jeff Bartos, all long shots, according to my GOP sources.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com