A Pennsylvania lawyer and former Hill staffer announced that he intends to take on Sen. Bob Casey in 2012, the Allentown Morning Call reported Tuesday.

Marc Scaringi worked on the successful Senate campaign of Rick Santorum in 1994 and then as a legislative assistant for the Pennsylvania Republican in 1995 and 1996, according to Scaringi’s profile on his law firm’s website.

“We have a President and his allies in Congress who are trying to transform an independent, prosperous people into dependents and wards of the government,” Scaringi said in his statement Tuesday announcing his intention to run against the Pennsylvania Democrat. “Casey is one of those.”

He also aligned himself with the tea party, saying it is “the best thing to happen to the Republican Party since Reagan changed his voter registration from Democrat to Republican and became our nation’s 40th president.”

“But it’s as a business owner that I’m seeing first-hand how out of hand Washington has become in creating policy that is harming free enterprise here in Pennsylvania,” he said in his statement.

Scaringi opened the law firm of Scaringi & Scaringi with his wife, Melanie Walz Scaringi, in 2005.