Swann weighs a race for Congress

WASHINGTON - Former Pittsburgh Steelers star Lynn Swann said yesterday that he was weighing a run for Congress.

Swann, a Republican who lost Pennsylvania's gubernatorial race last fall, said he had been approached to run for the Pittsburgh-area seat held by Democratic Rep. Jason Altmire.

"I'm still collecting information," Swann, of Sewickley Heights, told the Associated Press in a telephone interview. "People are still talking to me about it."

Swann would not say who had talked to him or when he planned to make up his mind.

"It's a process. It's not a matter at this point about whether it's something I thought about doing in the past or would think about doing in the future," Swann said. "It's a matter of getting information and keeping an open mind."

Swann made his political debut in a run against Gov. Rendell last year.

Before that, he had worked as a reporter and analyst for ABC Sports.

In his gubernatorial race, he advocated slashing state taxes, limiting spending, and overhauling the local property tax system. But Swann had problems keeping up with Rendell financially, raising about $11 million to Rendell's $32 million.

Altmire defeated three-term Republican Rep. Melissa Hart in a November victory that surprised pundits.

Hart said she was "seriously considering" running again, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported in late February.

Carrie James, a spokeswoman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, defended Altmire's record, saying that "he puts the interest of his constituents before partisan politics."

The district consists of all or parts of Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Lawrence, Mercer and Westmoreland Counties in Western Pennsylvania. It is historically Democratic, but voters tend to be socially conservative.