BY MARA REVKIN

In print | Published April 17, 2008 — Updated April 28, 2008 10:17

Three months ago, Gulf War veteran W. Craig Williams was nominated by the Delaware County Republicans to challenge incumbent Democratic Congressman Joe Sestak (D-Pa) for his 7th District seat. Williams, a Gulf War veteran and former federal prosecutor in Philadelphia, addressed an informal gathering of students and district constituents on Wednesday evening in the Science Center.

Sestak, a former Navy vice admiral, defeated 20-year incumbent Republican Representative Curt Weldon by a comfortable margin in 2006, despite the 7th district’s reputation as a GOP stronghold.

President of the College Republicans Justin Shaffer ‘08 took the initiative to bring Williams to campus shortly after he declared his candidacy in January. “Sestak comes here all the time, and we thought it would be worthwhile to meet the Republican candidate. If people like him and want to work for him as the campaign season gets underway, our organization will certainly support that,” Shaffer said, adding that he is optimistic about the prospect of a Republican victory in the congressional election next fall. "This district has been Republican for a long time. In a way, Sestak’s victory was a fluke because of the Curt Weldon scandal," Shaffer said, referring to Weldon’s alleged influence-peddling with a Russian oil company on behalf of his lobbyist daughter.

Sestak’s victory was a disappointment to many conservatives, who, according to Williams “have no voice at all in the United States Congress since we lost this seat in 2006.” Williams said he had not seriously contemplated a political career until the county’s Republican leadership approached him this winter. “I never had any real designs on running for office until the county leadership asked me to step up,” Williams said. The decision to enter the race was an easy one for Williams, who draws a stark contrast between Sestak’s platform and his own. “I just couldn’t accept that I was being represented by a guy who votes with Nancy Pelosi 98 percent of the time,” said Williams, who plans to prioritize fiscal responsibility and national security if elected.

Reinvigorating the economy is the top issue on Williams’ agenda. “When it takes 70 dollars to fill up my tank, the price of groceries is up and mortgage costs are out of control, people need to know that their government is working on a solution,” he said. Williams said he would scale back the size of the federal government and its “astronomical” budget, whereas Sestak “wants to tax and spend for every conceivable government program.”

Williams said he anticipates strong partisan opposition to proposed budgetary cuts, but is willing to work across party lines to engineer a legislative compromise. “I’m going down [to Washington, D.C.] to solve problems, and I will certainly reach across the aisle to build coalitions if that’s what it takes to get things done,” Williams said.

Williams has also drawn upon his extensive military background—including 21 years of service to the Marine Corps and former membership in the Joint Terrorism Task Force – to assess the utility of the controversial “surge” tactics employed by General David Petraeus. Last August, Sestak told an audience at the Center for American Progress that the decision to flood Iraq with fresh troops was “just doubling down on a bad bet.” Rebutting Sestak’s criticism, Williams said at Wednesday’s event, “We don’t bet with the lives of American troops. There’s more than hope in Iraq, there’s actual success.”

Williams said he believes that the war in Iraq will be viewed favorably by historians. “We came to Iraq not just as patriots, but as true liberators, and in the process we freed a nation from tyranny. That is the story that future generations will tell,” Williams said.

Marc Persson, the committeeman for the Western District of Swarthmore Borough, was in attendance at Wednesday’s event. He acknowledged the difficulty of mobilizing Republican voters in Swarthmore, where many residents are either directly or informally affiliated with the overwhelmingly liberal college community. “It’s hard to find a lot of campaign volunteers in Swarthmore. But the supporters we do have are very dedicated, so don’t think we can’t make our voice heard,” Persson said.

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