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<p>Eds: Updates with quotes from McGinty, Toomey campaign spokesman, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesman and Sestak. Adds background and detail. With AP Photos.</p><p>HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) &#8212; Katie McGinty, the former top aide to Gov. Tom Wolf, said Tuesday she is running for U.S. Senate, setting the stage for a 2016 Democratic primary showdown over Republican Sen. Pat Toomey&#8217;s seat in a state Democrats see as crucial to their goal of recapturing a Senate majority.</p><p>McGinty&#8217;s announcement had been expected since she stepped down as the governor&#8217;s chief of staff nearly two weeks ago. She vowed to &#8220;stand up for middle class and hard-working families who deserve a shot at the American dream.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;Pennsylvania needs a senator who will focus on the needs of working Pennsylvanians &#8212; fighting for good schools, decent wages, and affordable health care,&#8221; she said.</p><p>McGinty will face opposition in the primary from Joe Sestak, a former Navy vice admiral and two-term congressman who narrowly lost to Toomey in 2010. Sestak had beaten Republican-turned-Democrat Arlen Specter in the primary despite support for him from national Democratic leaders, including President Barack Obama.</p><p>McGinty, 52, had been courted by national party leaders, some of whom were unhappy that Sestak was seeking a rematch with Toomey, and Emily&#8217;s List, a Democratic group that backs female candidates who support abortion rights.</p><p>Her resume includes a stint on the staff of U.S. Sen. Al Gore in 1989 and service as an environmental adviser in the Bill Clinton White House and Gore&#8217;s 2000 presidential campaign. She also served as secretary of the state Department of Environmental Protection in Gov. Ed Rendell&#8217;s administration.</p><p>McGinty subsequently worked in the private sector. She lost her first election campaign last year coming in last in the four-way Democratic gubernatorial primary but impressing Wolf enough to hire her as his top staffer.</p><p>A Toomey campaign spokesman said the incumbent was focused on the general election in November 2016.</p><p>&#8220;Katie McGinty is a capable person &#8212; we welcome her to the competition of ideas, and we&#8217;ll let the Democrats sort out who their candidate will be next April,&#8221; said the spokesman, Steve Kelly.</p><p>The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, whose mission is to elect a Democratic Senate majority, isn&#8217;t taking sides in the prospective battle between McGinty and Sestak in the April primary. Its spokesman said Toomey, a fiscal conservative and free-market advocate, is politically vulnerable.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re talking to both candidates. We think both candidates can win,&#8221; said the spokesman, Justin Barasky.</p><p>McGinty criticized Toomey in an online video as &#8220;part of that Washington mess that has left middle-class families out and behind.&#8221;</p><p>Sestak, 63, said in an email statement Tuesday that he is running for Senate to earn Pennsylvanians&#8217; trust. He attacked Toomey&#8217;s voting record but did not mention McGinty.</p><p>&#8220;Trust is the biggest deficit in America today. The establishment has let us down &#8212; Washington has forgotten that it is about people above party, above type,&#8221; the statement says.</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/web1_mcginty01.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">McGinty </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/web1_mcginty01.jpg</photo0><caption0>McGinty </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Peter Jackson</p><p>Associated Press</p></bylineMeta></div>

Democrat Katie McGinty running for US Senate in Pennsylvania