Charlie Dent endorses Toomey

Republican Pennsylvania Rep. Charlie Dent on Thursday the first Pennsylvania lawmakers to through his support behind former Rep. Pat Toomey (R) in his run for the senate next year.

And, perhaps more importantly, Dent is from a District that might not be all that Toomey-friendly.

In a statement, Dent said he believes in what Toomey stands for.

“I look forward to helping Pat with his effort to win election to the Senate in 2010,” Dent said. “Pat believes in a limited government that spends responsibly and within its means. His commitments to personal freedom and economic opportunity for the people of Pennsylvania are two of the central values that Pat and I share,” said Dent.”

Dent’s endorsement is interesting for a few reasons. Simply put, I doubt Toomey’s conservative credentials are inline with Dent’s district. President Obama carried Dent’s 15th District by a wide 56 percent to 43 percent last year and Dent is viewed as a target by national Democrats.

It also shows at least some of the Pennsylvania GOP establishment may be starting to fall in line behind Toomey after a lot of speculation that Republicans would field a more moderate contender to take on Sen. Arlen Specter (D) next year.

UPDATE: