Pat Meehan '78 was elected to represent the Seventh Congressional District of Pennsylvania in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, soundly beating his Democratic opponent, Bryan Lentz, 55 percent to 44 percent, according to Politics Daily.
Meehan graduated from Bowdoin with degrees in Government and Legal Studies and Classics and went on to serve as a referee for the National Hockey League before pursuing a law degree at Temple University.
Meehan gained attention for his contributions to the campaigns of Senator Arlen Specter and Senator Rick Santorum. In 1995, Meehan successfully ran for district attorney of Delaware County, Pennsylvania.
During his campaign, Meehan emphasized that if he was elected, he would concentrate on financial recovery.
"I will go to Congress to rein in spending, eliminate the deficit and reduce the debt by supporting a balanced budget amendment and performance-based budgeting," he wrote in a post on AOL News.
Democrat Joe Sestak stepped down from the seat in order to run for Senate, vacating it for the midterm election. Politics Daily reported that Sestak lost his race for Senate to Republican Pat Toomey 49 percent to 51 percent.