Candidates prepare to run for 6th seat

Candidates are preparing to face off for Pennsylvania’s 6th Congressional district seat, vacated by Republican Jim Gerlach, who will be running for Governor

Candidates are preparing to face off for Pennsylvania’s 6th Congressional district seat, vacated by Republican Jim Gerlach, who will be running for Governor. The district stretches from the Main Line in Montgomery County up to parts of Berks County and has recently been a swing district. Observers expect a hotly contested race in an expensive media market to attract national donations and interest.

Listen:
[audio: 090810spdistrict.mp3]

Republicans are hoping to keep the district, counting on a GOP base in both Chester and Berks Counties, as well as the possibility that President Obama’s popularity continues to wane.

John Kennedy is a political science professor at West Chester University. He says, like the 7th district in Delaware County, who wins the 6th district depends on the political mood at the time of the 2010 election.

Kennedy: That’s a big question mark. If I knew how the healthcare debate will be, how the economy will be in 2010 I’d have a better idea of how these seats are gonna tilt. When you look at the 6th and 7th, its almost a flip of the coin how these things are gonna go.

Doug Pike, a former Inquirer editorial board member, is the only Democrat who has announced for the 6th district seat. State Representative Curt Schroder and Chester County’s Recorder of Deeds Ryan Costello are vying for the Republican nomination.