WWTBAM Bored

PA Congressman Ryan Costello, whose Sixth Congressional District became somewhat bluer as a result of the new redistricting, formally announced his retirement and withdrew his name from the primary ballot. What this means is that the only Republican left on the ballot is a virtual unknown attorney and, since the filing deadline has passed, the Republicans can't replace Costello with someone else (generally, when a Congressman decides to retire under these circumstances, he remains on the ballot and, if nominated, the party can then replace him for the general election). Democrats have a strong candidate in Chrissy Houlahan, an Air Force veteran and businesswoman, who is well funded, so this now becomes perhaps the most likely Democratic pickup in the entire House.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/polit ... 80327.html

silverscreenselect wrote:PA Congressman Ryan Costello, whose Sixth Congressional District became somewhat bluer as a result of the new redistricting, formally announced his retirement and withdrew his name from the primary ballot. What this means is that the only Republican left on the ballot is a virtual unknown attorney and, since the filing deadline has passed, the Republicans can't replace Costello with someone else (generally, when a Congressman decides to retire under these circumstances, he remains on the ballot and, if nominated, the party can then replace him for the general election). Democrats have a strong candidate in Chrissy Houlahan, an Air Force veteran and businesswoman, who is well funded, so this now becomes perhaps the most likely Democratic pickup in the entire House.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/polit ... 80327.html

If I recall correctly, the Sixth was one of the most gerrymandered districts in the country. I can't tell for sure because of all of its twists and turns, but I think it may cover the house I grew up in. (My old zip code currently lies in three different congressional districts.) --Bob

It's a very long list of House Republicans who are getting or have already gotten out of politics this election cycle--either because of age, health, disgust of politics, disgust of Drumpf, or being on the Harvey List:

Trent Franks (AZ-8)
Ed Royce (CA-39)
Darrell Issa (CA-49)
Tom Rooney (FL-17)
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL-27)
Lynn Jenkins (KS-2)
Dave Trott (MI-11)
Gregg Harper (MS-3)
Frank LoBiondo (NJ-2)
Rodney Frelinghuysen (NJ-11)
Pat Tiberi (OH-12)
Ryan Costello (PA-Old 6)
Pat Meehan (PA-Old 7)
Bill Shuster (PA-Old 9)
Charlie Dent (PA-Old 15)
Tim Murphy (PA-Old 18) -- already won by Conor Lamb (D)
Trey Gowdy (SC-4)
Jimmy Duncan (TN-2)
Ted Poe (TX-2)
Sam Johnson (TX-3)
Jeb Hensarling (TX-5)
Joe Barton (TX-6)
Lamar Smith (TX-21)
Blake Farenthold (TX-27)
Bob Goodlatte (VA-6)
Dave Reichert (WA-8)

Out of all of these districts, only SC-4 and TN-2 are redder than the district Lamb just won a couple of weeks ago. Of course, this is on top of the twenty or so winnable seats being vacated by Republicans seeking promotions to either the U.S. Senate or the governor's mansion... and couple of dozen other purple-to-red districts with possibly endangered incumbents.

But none of that matters unless people actually bother to show up and vote--especially the millions of selfish whiny millennials who made BS excuses for not voting in 2016.

silverscreenselect wrote:PA Congressman Ryan Costello, whose Sixth Congressional District became somewhat bluer as a result of the new redistricting, formally announced his retirement and withdrew his name from the primary ballot. What this means is that the only Republican left on the ballot is a virtual unknown attorney and, since the filing deadline has passed, the Republicans can't replace Costello with someone else (generally, when a Congressman decides to retire under these circumstances, he remains on the ballot and, if nominated, the party can then replace him for the general election). Democrats have a strong candidate in Chrissy Houlahan, an Air Force veteran and businesswoman, who is well funded, so this now becomes perhaps the most likely Democratic pickup in the entire House.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/polit ... 80327.html

We have major hopes of retaking the Third Congressional District in Colorado. Our current rep is mostly absent; we assume he drops by the office just to pick up his paycheck or however that works. We have two excellent Democratic candidates -- one is more experienced, and one is, for lack of a better term, more charismatic. Don't get me wrong, the first has plenty of charisma to get the job done, and the second has plenty of smarts. Here's hoping.