(I’m not too embarrassed to admit that I’ve never heard of this GOP crumb-bum until today. – promoted by James L.)
Being in the minority sucks. GOP Rep. John Peterson of PA-05 is expected to announce his retirement today.
Two Republican officials with knowledge of the decision said Peterson was expected to announce his retirement. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they did not want to pre-empt the congressman’s announcement, which was anticipated later Thursday.
No indication yet why he’s leaving exactly, but he’ll turn 70 this year.
Peterson was re-elected in 2006 with 60% of the vote, underpolling Bush by less than 1%. This is rough, red country to be certain (R+10), but it does include State College.
2006 challenger Don Hilliard says in a comment on Race Tracker Wiki:
Please note my name is Don Hilliard. I ran against Congressman Peterson in 2006 and intend to do so again in 2008. Please add me to your site. Thank you.
UPDATE: Wikipedia on Peterson’s environmental record:
Peterson received the lowest possible environmental rating from the nonpartisan League of Conservation Voters in 2006, casting what the group qualified as anti-environment votes on twelve out of twelve critical issues ranging from oil drilling offshore and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, salvage logging and logging roads, and the Clean Water Act, to the Toxics Release Inventory program and low-income energy assistance. The conservative environmental group Republicans for Environmental Protection singled out Peterson as “Worst in the House in 2006” on environmental issues. In addition to assigning the representative a score of zero for his voting record, REP censured him individually for “efforts to remove the moratorium on Outer Continental Shelf gas drilling through the Interior appropriations process.” According to the League of Conservation Voters, “natural gas drilling can create massive amounts of water and air pollution and can leave open the possibility of oil spills, which would be toxic for a wide variety of marine and coastal life.”
Good riddance!
UPDATE #2: It’s official.
Peterson said in a statement released by his office that he desires to spend more time with his family in Pleasantville. He said his retirement is effective at the end of his current term.
Wow, it’s like Republicans all over congress are suddenly remembering how much they love their families! I guess being on the Appropriations committee isn’t as fun when you’re in the minority.
Your thoughts?
but am curious if the Dem presidential nominee stands to gain from higher Democratic voter turnout due to an open seat election in this deep red district. If there’s a Democrat running a real campaign, is there evidence that Dem turnout goes up?
Not the first time I’ve made the front on SSP, but it’s special every time.
By the way, my signature is screwed up – I can’t change it. Every time I try to change it, the changes get erased and the old signature returns.
(I’ve recently retired from Senate Seeker to spend more time blogging).
There’s an interesting discussion already on the big orange blog on this district, and rather than repeat what I said there, I’ll just point to it:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/…
There are a couple of Democratic office-holders who might be interested and able to contest the district. Mr. Hilliard deserves a full measure of kudos for running last time – Peterson has run unopposed more often than not since first elected – but this is a difficult district and if we are serious about trying for it we will need a fund-raiser who is a more exciting speaker than Mr. Hilliard, who did not raise enough money in the 2006 cycle to trigger the need to file a report with the FEC, unless the Open Secrets website was not properly updated when the books were closed on that cycle:
http://www.opensecrets.org/rac…
The Republican who seems best poised to hold the seat for the Reds, state senator Jake Corman, will be a very formidable candidate. This is not a district where the fundamentals are radically changed by the retirement of the long-term incumbent, who was, as pointed out, a very low-profile member.
One of the factors that doubtless fed into his decision to retire now is that he is riding the crest of a very unusual wave of personal popularity and publicity, taking credit for blocking Governor Ed Rendell’s hope to make I-80 a toll road, which the locals do not want. It must strike Peterson as the zenith of his career, and what better moment to retire (in addition to the health problems hinted at in the announcement). He could serve another six terms without ever generating another headline even in the local papers. A quiet, colorless man and a feeble public speaker; I sat next to him at lunch one day (one table over, in a restaurant) over the holidays and barely realized who he was.
There are a couple of Democrats representing state legislative districts within the 5th who would be reasonable candidates, but it’s a pity that the GOP will not be in much difficulty to identify a strong candidate to replace Peterson. This isn’t a case of power vaccuum. It’s actually a lucky break for the GOP, as their obvious front-runner is pretty young, and could look forward to serving many terms if he inherits the seat.
The other thing to keep an eye on is the hope that we will see a little bit of eye-gouging among Republican Congressvarmints hoping to get Peterson’s seat on Appropriations. Maybe at least one bitter and permanent enmity will be generated as they wrassle for it. One can always hope.
The local paper that dominates the county with the biggest population in District 5 (Centre County) rapidly pulled together a survey of what’s available to both parties in the way of prospective candidates:
http://www.centredaily.com/new…
Quick digest for those who don’t have time to follow the link:
Timing would be awkward for Scarnati. He has been mentioned in past speculation as a possible contender for the seat when it comes open, but his term is up this time, so he’d be risking a lot; and he’s on the wrong side of the I-80 toll road debate, so some of what would normally be his base of support isn’t too pleased with him just now.
The paper seems not to have contacted Republican State Rep. Kerry Benninghoff, perhaps predicting that he would defer to Corman if Corman decides to run.
I mean, it’s easier if it’s open, but my model based on just the demographics gives it a .75 probability of being Repub.
Still worth some work though!
PA-5 is a tough, tough district for the Dems. If I’m not mistaken, they last won it in 1976 and have only even come close once since then (either 1984 or 1986; I can’t recall which). It’s mostly rural, and ancestrally Republican turf in the truest sense of the term. John Peterson was hit with a sex scandal about a week before his first election (1996), and he still won with 60% of the vote. That’s his lowest percentage ever, although Don Hilliard matched it last year. As somebody else suggested, our best bet for ever getting a crack at this territory is probably redistricting in 2012. Sooner or later, PA is going to lose enough seats that the great empty swath that now makes up the 5th will have to be split up among other districts.
Still, if the Dems can turn up a charismatic candidate with something special to offer, it could be a fun one to watch. Given the preponderance of Republicans there, I envision a pretty crowded primary. That could help us too.
I am a Democrat who lives in Peterson’s district. This is WONDERFUL news. Peterson is a complete rubber stamp for all of the worst of Bush’s policies. I led a campaign to complain about Peterson’s vote against SCHIP and we actually picketed his office.
There is a growing excitment out here by Democrats and a real disgust against the Republican administration. You would not believe the hate people feel towards Bush. One after another they tell me that they cannot even bear to look at him and when he comes on TV they immediately switch the channel. We voted for Senator Casey and against Rick Santorum and also for Governor Rendell who won by a landslide. So the region may look red on paper but the times they are a changin. We have a local state congressman, Dan Surra, who easily wins reelection as a liberal Democrat. I campaigned for Don Hilliard last time when he ran against Peterson. Mr Hilliard took NO money from any lobbyist or corporation and with only $10,000 of his own money ran a competitive campaign. His motto was “Had enough yet?” A lot of us certainly have. Now if we could generate a little money, we might have a good shot at this seat. The media market is sooo cheap here and radio is practically free. Now is the time to get our message out.
I’d actually keep the 5th around, and instead of chopping it up, add more GOP-leaning central PA areas from the 10th (Carney’s district) and the 3rd (English’s). The district I’d get rid of is Gerlach’s (if it’s still R-occupied), which is a geometrical monstrosity.