Three More Retirements

One Republican and two Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives recently announced that they will not seek re-election later this year. Six-term Rep. Jim Gerlach (R-PA-6), announced on Monday that he will not seek a seventh term from his Philadelphia suburban congressional district.  Aside from spending what will be 12 years in the House at the end of the current Congress, Mr. Gerlach also served a dozen years in the Pennsylvania legislature.  The 6th District is highly competitive and will be rated as a toss-up in an open seat situation. Two days later a pair of veteran Democratic House members, both originally elected in 1996, announced that they will not seek re-election as well. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY-4), citing health reasons after being diagnosed with lung cancer earlier this year, will not seek a tenth term in the House from her Long Island congressional seat.  With an Obama '12 victory margin of 56-43 percent, the eventual Democratic nominee will have an edge at winning this seat. Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-NC-7), who survived the closest election of the 2012 cycle (654 votes) has also decided to end his career in the House.  As the number one Republican national target, it has become clear that the congressman's victory chances are diminishing.  Former state Sen. David Rouzer (R), the close-finishing 2012 nominee, has announced and been running for weeks.  Multiple candidates from both parties will now likely line up to run. Wednesday’s developments expand the number of House open seats to 27 (18 Republicans; 9 Democrats). For more information, please contact David Ashinoff at (202) 547-5013 or ashinoffd@agc.org.