News sources are reporting that six- term Republican Rep. Jim Greenwood is considering leaving Congress for a job in the private sector. Insiders on both sides say that it is likely that Greenwood will not be on the ballot this November.
Greenwood’s retirement would give House Democrats an opportunity to expand the political playing field. The fact that Greenwood has easily carried this suburban Philadelphia district since 1992 belies its inherent competitiveness. Former Vice President Al Gore carried the district, which is centered in Bucks County, with 51 percent of the vote in 2000. Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell crushed his Republican opponent in Bucks County in 2002 by almost 40,000 votes. A Greenwood exit would also present Republicans with the challenge of defending three seats in the Philadelphia suburbs (Rep. Pat Toomey’s open 15th district and freshman Rep. Jim Gerlach’s 6th CD), a region of the state that has continued to trend away from Republicans over the last decade. It is also a very expensive region of the country, with candidates forced to buy advertising time in the pricey
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