D. Raja announces bid for 37th State Senate seat
Mt. Lebanon Republican D. Raja has formally announced his candidacy for the 37th District state Senate seat being vacated by Congressman-elect Guy Reschenthaler.
Raja is the second Republican to join what is expected to be a crowded field. Earlier this week, Bridgeville businessman Devlin Robinson joined the fray.
This is the second time Raja has attempted to win the state Senate seat. In 2012, he won the Republican nomination in the 37th District, but was defeated in the general election by Democrat Matt Smith. The year before, Raja ran an unsuccessful race to be Allegheny County executive. The founder of Computer Enterprises Inc., he is currently the chairman of the Republican Committee of Allegheny County.
Whoever wins the seat in a special election that will happen on a date yet to be determined in 2019 will serve out the remainder of Reschenthahler’s term. Reschenthaler, himself, won the seat in a special election in 2015 after Smith resigned to take a job with the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce, then won a full term in 2016. Reschenthaler was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives last month in the newly configured 14th Congressional District.
Reschenthaler has endorsed Raja, saying in a statement that Raja shares his priorities “and has the proven experience to continue my work.” Raja also has the backing of Pennsylvania’s Republican U.S. senator Pat Toomey. Toomey said that Raja has “a proven record of results as a business owner, local elected official and active community leader.”
Other current or former elected officials who say they back Raja include Joseph Scarnati, the president pro tempore of the Pennsylvania Senate, Jake Corman, the majority leader in the state Senate, and former state Sen. John Pippy, who held the 37th District seat from 2003 to 2012.
A native of India and a naturalized U.S. citizen, Raja has also been a Mt. Lebanon commissioner, a member of the board of the Port Authority of Allegheny County and the host of a radio show on KDKA-AM from 2013 to 2016.
The 37th Senate District includes Peters Township in Washington County and many Allegheny County communities, including Bridgeville, Bethel Park, Mt. Lebanon, Sewickley and Upper St. Clair.