The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, run by party leaders, officially endorsed Katie McGinty for Senate in Pennsylvania Wednesday after staying neutral for months | AP Photo DSCC endorses McGinty in Pennsylvania primary

Senate Democrats are intervening in the closely contested Democratic primary in Pennsylvania, throwing their support behind Katie McGinty as they hope to deny former Rep. Joe Sestak the nomination in a critical Senate contest.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, run by party leaders, officially endorsed McGinty Wednesday after staying neutral for months despite their private distaste for Sestak. McGinty, a former chief of staff for Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, has also received the support from Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), the son of a popular former governor, and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who consistently predicts McGinty will be the next senator from the state.


"Pennsylvanians who want a tireless fighter for the middle class have no better leader than Katie McGinty," DSCC executive director Tom Lopach said in the committee's statement backing McGinty. "She is a hard charging voice for change who will work to expand opportunities for the families who have been left behind for too long."

Democratic leaders and officials don't necessarily believe that Sestak would automatically lose to incumbent GOP Sen. Pat Toomey, but they do view his independent streak and his previous loss to Toomey in 2010 as liabilities in a must-win race if they hope to capture the Senate. In the past, Sestak has been resistant to taking advice and resources from national Democrats.

Sestak has a slight edge in recent primary polls over McGinty, while general election polls show that Toomey starts as the frontrunner against both of them.

Despite the importance of the Democratic nomination, neither McGinty nor Sestak will say much bad about each other and have both been running generally positive campaigns. In a 40-minute interview last month, McGinty repeatedly rebuffed all questions about Sestak, while Sestak has declined to speak to POLITICO about the Democratic establishment's preference for McGinty.

"We're just not focused on that," said a spokesman, spurning a recent interview request. "As Joe says on the trail, 'They have the big names, but I've got mine.'"

Braddock Mayor John Fetterman is also running in the Democratic primary.

The DSCC's endorsement makes official an obvious truth: the Senate Democratic caucus has been firmly behind McGinty's candidacy for months. McGinty thanked Democratic senators for making introductions and providing advice on the campaign trail.

"You can see in the number of senators who have jumped in supporting us," she said. "I would just say Democratic senators have been very, very helpful to me in terms of supporting our campaign."

Now, the committee has joined EMILY's List, the League of Conservation Voters, and other groups in endorsing McGinty officially. Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, McGinty's outspoken campaign chairman, has repeatedly called for outside groups to spend more to boost McGinty. A DSCC endorsement typically comes with fundraising support and the potential of television buys, a spokeswoman said, but she declined to comment on the Senate Democratic committee's plans.