Schroder quits race in 6th

State Rep. Curt Schroder announced tonight that he is ending his run for Congress in Pennsylvania's Sixth District because the incumbent, fellow Republican Jim Gerlach, has decided to seek reelection after all.

"I know to many of you this will come as a bitter disappointment," Schroder (R., Chester) told supporters in a message posted on his campaign Web site. "It certainly is to me."

Schroder's exit comes on the heels of Gerlach's decisions, announced late last week, to quit the 2010 governor's race and seek reelection in Congress instead.

Political analysts said those moves boosted state Attorney General Tom Corbett's chances of winning the GOP gubernatorial nomination - while upping the party's hopes of a congressional win in the Sixth District.

Schroder's announcement, while not mentioning Gerlach's name, said in part: "The sudden and unexpected re-entry into the 6th District race of the current incumbent presented a new and potentially insurmountable obstacle to my effort to be your next Congressman."

Moreover, he said, the incumbent "will have the complete financial resources of the Washington, D.C. establishment behind him."

Still in the race for the GOP nomination for Gerlach's seat are Phoenixville businessman Steven Welch, geologist Walt Hufford of Chester County and tea-party activist Patrick Sellers.

The full text of Schoder's announcement is at http://www.vote4curt.com/

   - Inquirer Staff