By DAN KRISTIE, Staff Writer

EAST BRADFORD — U.S. Senate candidate Pat Toomey predicted in an interview Monday he will carry Chester County in the 2010 election.

"On the balance, I think this is a center-right county," Toomey said. "Folks here are fiscal conservatives. They believe in free enterprise and limited government. I think my message will resonate well here."

Toomey, who in the past has been branded a far-right conservative, said on Monday that he is really a "mainstream Republican." He blamed the "far-right" label on U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, whom he narrowly lost to in the 2004 Republican senatorial primary.

"Six years ago, Specter didn't want to have a policy discussion," Toomey said. So, Toomey said, Specter focused his efforts and considerable campaign purse on making the "far right" label stick.

Toomey, however, has constantly earned high ranks from anti-abortion and pro-gun groups. And, he has earned low ranks from environmental advocacy groups and from organized labor groups. Between 2005 and 2009, he was head of the fiscally conservative Club for Growth.

During Monday's interview, which was conducted at the Daily Local News' offices, Toomey continually and admiringly used the adjective "center-right."

Since Specter left the Republican Party this spring, giving Toomey a clear path to the Republican nomination, political analysts have noted that Toomey has moderated his message. When asked about this on Monday, Toomey dismissed it.

"There's no change in the brand," he said. "It's the same brand."

Toomey, who for three terms served as U.S. Representative for the Lehigh Valley area's 15th District, said that if he really were a member of the far right, he could not have held onto that congressional district. The district has a small Democratic majority.

Toomey said that economic growth will be the central message of his campaign. Growth, he said, can be best accomplished through small government, low taxes and deregulation of commerce.

Anything that creates competition, whether it be deregulated marketplaces or, in education, the promotion of charter and private schools that will vie against traditional public schools for students, is in the country's best interest, Toomey said.

He also said he favors strong economic sanctions against Iran. In the absence of such sanctions, he said, Iran is more likely to have the time it needs to develop nuclear weapons.

Sanctions, he said, could make Iran's ruling class realize that life is easier without than with nuclear weapons. But, he said, sanctions aren't guaranteed to avert war with Iran. "I don't have anything approaching certainty that (sanctions) will work," Toomey said. "But I am certain that in their absence, Iran will have nuclear weapons. So we should at least give it a try."

In the 2010 general election, Toomey will face either U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, who switched from Republican to Democrat in April, or U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak, D-7th, of Edgmont.

Toomey has, on the whole, spoken more positively of Sestak than of Specter.

"Joe is principled; Arlen is not," Toomey said. He said that, while he does not agree with Sestak's policy positions, he at least admires Sestak for believing in something.

Specter, Toomey said, appears to be acting only in the interest of maintaining political power. As evidence, he pointed to Specter's recent party switch.

In September, Toomey and Sestak held a health care debate in Allentown to which Specter was not invited. And although, in their campaign literature, Sestak and Toomey have been critical of each other, they have also implicitly praised each other for not being Specter.

Toomey said he and Sestak have made no agreement, formal or informal, to edge Specter out of the conversation.

"I have no preference who I run against," Toomey said.

To contact staff writer Dan Kristie, send an e-mail to dkristie@dailylocal.com.