Four former U.S. Attorneys became the Republican party nominees for their respective bids for Congress and the governor’s race while one ex-prosecutor fell short in her congressional bid.

Tim Griffin (Tim Griffin for Congress)

In Arkansas, former Eastern District U.S. Attorney Tim Griffin earned 62 percent of the vote while restaurant owner Scott Wallace won 38 percent, according to the Arkansas Secretary of State. Griffin, a former Bush administration official who was a key figure in the 2006 U.S. Attorney firings scandal, will face state Sen. Joyce Elliott, who won the Democratic primary Tuesday, in the November general election. They are seeking to replace Democratic Rep. Vic Snyder in Arkansas’ 2nd District. Snyder dropped his re-election bid in January, citing family concerns.

Tom Corbett

Three former U.S. Attorneys in Pennsylvania won primaries on Tuesday, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State.

Tom Corbett, who was appointed U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania by President George H.W. Bush in 1989 and served until 1993, earned 69 percent of the vote against state Rep. Sam Rohrer, who garnered won 31 percent. Corbett will face Allegheny County executive Dan Onorato, the Democratic primary winner, in the general election to replace current Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D), who is term limited.

Pat Meehan (Pat Meehan for Congress)

Pat Meehan, who led the Eastern District of Pennsylvania U.S. Attorney’s Office from 2001 to 2008, was unopposed in the Republican primary. He will face state Rep. Bryan Lentz who also ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. Both candidates are hoping to replace Democratic Rep. Joe Sestak, who successfully challenged Sen. Arlen Specter in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate.

Tom Marino (Tom Marino for Congress)

Tom Marino, the former U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania from 2002 to October 2007, also won a Republican primary Tuesday with 41 percent of the vote. Chiropractor and 2006 state Senate candidate David Madeira garnered 31 of the vote while Snyder County Commissioner Malcolm Derk received 28 percent. Marino will face incumbent Rep. Chris Carney (D), who was unopposed in the Democratic primary.

Mary Beth Buchanan (Mary Beth Buchanan for Congress)

One former U.S. Attorney lost her primary bid Tuesday. Mary Beth Buchanan, who served as the Western District of Pennsylvania U.S. Attorney from 2001 until November 2009, earned 33 percent of the vote, but former Department of Homeland Security official Keith Rothfus won 67 percent. Rothfus will face incumbent Rep. Jason Altmire (D-Pa.) who was unopposed in the Democratic primary.

Zane D. Memeger (Morgan Lewis)

Zane D. Memeger (James Madison University, University of Virginia School of Law) is nominated to be U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He would replace Patrick L. Meehan, who resigned in July 2008 to run for Congress. The district’s current interim U.S. Attorney is Michael L. Levy.

Memeger’s vitals:

• Born in Yonkers, N.Y., in 1964.
• Has been a partner in the litigation practice group at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP in Philadelphia since October 2006. Was an associate in the group from September 1991 to April 1995.
• Was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania from May 1995 to September 2006.
• Worked as a summer associate at Bayard, Handelman & Murdoch, Pennsylvania (now Bayard, PA) in Wilmington, Del., 1989.
• Was a paralegal at Williams & Connolly LLP in Washington, D.C., from July 1986 to August 1988.
• Has tried 10 cases to verdict, serving as sole counsel in five cases and associate or co-counsel in the remaining five cases.

Click here for his full Senate Judiciary Committee questionnaire.

UPDATE: On his Office of Government Ethics questionnaire Memeger reported earning a $390,000 from Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP for 2009 and the first few months of 2010.

On his Senate Judiciary financial disclosure Memeger reported assets valued at $851,200, mostly from his personal residence, and $396,400 in liabilities, mostly from a mortgage on the property, for a net worth of $454,800.

Patrick Meehan (DOJ)

Former U.S. Attorney Pat Meehan, who got a fundraising jump on Democrats in the battle for the Pennsylvania 7th District House seat, has maintained his lead, according to the most recent figures from the Federal Election Commission.

Meehan, who is running unopposed in the Republican primary, is one of four candidates seeking to replace Democratic Rep. Joe Sestak, who is challenging Sen. Arlen Specter in the Democratic primary.

In the first quarter of 2010 Meehan raised $343,000 and ended the quarter with $875,000 cash on hand. Although three Democrats have filed to run for the open seat, only one filed an April quarterly campaign finance report. In the first quarter of 2010 state Rep. Bryan Lentz raised more than $236,000 and  ended the quarter with slightly more than $607,000 cash on hand. Attorney Gail Conner and political consultant E. Teresa Touey are the other two Democratic candidates.

Meehan led the Eastern District of Pennsylvania U.S. Attorney’s Office from 2001 to 2008,

The primary election will take place May 18.

A Democrat who is vying for a House seat in Pennsylvania — probably against Republican former U.S. Attorney Pat Meehan — urged the Justice Department to investigate whether the ex-prosecutor submitted fraudulent nominating petitions, The Associated Press reported Thursday.

Patrick Meehan (DOJ)

Meehan campaign spokesman Pete Peterson told The AP that State Rep. Bryan Lentz, the likely Democratic nominee for the seat in southeast Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District, is participating in “political grandstanding.” The DOJ declined to comment to The AP.

A motion filed last month in Commonwealth Court asked the court to rule that most of the 3,623 signatures Meehan submitted to qualify for the ballot are invalid. If the signatures are found to be illegitimate, Meehan would be ineligible to run in the May 18 GOP primary.

The former U.S. Attorney asked the court to throw out the petition. Meehan had tried to pre-empt any controversy over his petition signatures by notifying the Delaware County, Pa., prosecutor before the motion was filed that there may be problems involving four signatures.

Meehan, who served as U.S. Attorney for the Philadelphia-based Eastern District of Pennsylvania during the George W. Bush administration, is looking to succeed Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.), who is running against Sen. Arlen Specter in the Democratic Senate primary. The former U.S. Attorney is the only candidate in the Republican primary.

Four supporters of former U.S. Attorney Pat Meehan want their names removed from a court action that alleges that they participated in the fraudulent gathering of signatures on Meehan’s nominating petition to run for a seat in the House of Representatives.

The Delaware County Daily Times reported Friday that the four Meehan supporters were named in a motion filed earlier in the week in Commonwealth Court asking the court to rule that most of the 3,623 signatures Meehan submitted to qualify for the ballot in southeast Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District are invalid.

Patrick Meehan (DOJ)

If the signatures are found to be illegitimate, Meehan would be ineligible to run in the May 18 GOP primary. Meehan asked the Pennsylvania court on Thursday to throw out the motion challenging the validity of signatures on his nominating petitions for a House seat.

In the motion, the plaintiffs alleged that four of Meehan’s supporters — called circulators because they circulated Meehan’s nominating petition — falsely signed an affidavit verifying that they had personally witnessed the signatures on the petition.

Robert DiOrio, the lawyer for the four circulators, called the allegation “false and defamatory” and “outrageous charges” that should be removed immediately.

“My clients are very upset and concerned that they have been called frauds and we thought that this was the quickest way to publicly demand that this practice stop immediately,” DiOrio said, according to the Daily Times. The lawyer held a press conference on the matter Thursday afternoon.

Meehan blamed state Rep. Bryan Lentz, the likely Democratic nominee for the seat, for the challenge. In a letter to the Democratic candidate, Meehan called the motion a “shameless stunt.”

The Lentz campaign has stood in support of the challenge.

“This is a pending legal matter,” Lentz spokesman Vincent Rongione told the newspaper. “The Meehan campaign and their associates will have their day in court to defend themselves and that’s the appropriate place for this conversation, not a press conference.”

Meehan, who served as U.S. Attorney for the Philadelphia-based Eastern District of Pennsylvania during the George W. Bush administration, is looking to succeed Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.), who is running against Sen. Arlen Specter in the Democratic Senate primary. The former U.S. Attorney is the only candidate in the Republican primary.

Former Philadelphia U.S. Attorney Pat Meehan is asking a Pennsylvania court to throw out a motion challenging the validity of signatures on his nominating petitions for a House seat, The Hill’s Ballot Box blog reported Thursday.

Pat Meehan (DOJ)

Four Pennsylvania Republicans filed a motion asking the court to rule that most of the 3,623 signatures Meehan submitted are invalid. If the signatures are found to be illegitimate, Meehan would be ineligible to run in the May 18 GOP primary for the 7th congressional district seat in southeast Pennsylvania. Last week, Meehan tried to preempt any controversy over his petition signatures by notifying the Delaware County, Pa., prosecutor that four signatures may have had problems.

Meehan blamed state Rep. Bryan Lentz, the likely Democratic nominee for the seat, for the challenge. In a letter to the Democratic candidate, Meehan called the motion a “shameless stunt.”

“Their petition to strike the nominating papers is devoid of any merit,” James Colins, a Meehan campaign lawyer, told The Hill. “They’re doing this to get some free publicity.”

The Lentz campaign said it is supporting the challenge.

“This challenge will demonstrate that the instances of forgery and fraud in Meehan’s petitions extend far beyond what Meehan and his organization was willing to admit in their confession to the district attorney last week,” Lentz campaign manager Vincent Rongione said in a statement. “Given the pervasive fraud and systemic abuse of the public trust, Pat Meehan may not have met the legal standard necessary to placed on the ballot.”

Meehan, who served as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania during the George W. Bush administration, is looking to succeed Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.), who is running against Sen. Arlen Specter in the Democratic Senate primary. The former U.S. Attorney is the only candidate in the Republican primary.

Michael Barley, a Pennsylvania Republican Party spokesperson, told The Hill that the party continues to stand behind Meehan.

“We remain confident that Pat Meehan’s petitions, at the end of the day, are valid and he’ll be on the ballot,” Barley told the blog.