Another One Gone
By 
Another Republican House member in a marginal district has decided to spend more time with his family:
Rep. Ryan Costello (R-Pa.) won’t seek reelection this year, complicating the party’s chances of holding a seat in the Philadelphia suburbs after a court decision struck down a GOP-friendly map.
“It’s the most difficult decision I can recall having to make,” Costello told MSNBC’s Kasie Hunt on Sunday night. “I have an 8-month old. I have a 4-year old. And it’s a very challenging job, serving in Congress with a young family.
Republicans in Costello’s 6th Congressional District had been told this week that he’d abandon his campaign before the May 15 primary. The decision was first reported by City & State Pennsylvania, shocking Republicans who viewed the 41-year old as a rising star.
While two other Republicans had filed to run in the 6th District, the incumbent had more than $1.3 million in his campaign account and had won his previous races with more than 56 percent of the vote. Both Republicans were running to the right of Costello, a business-friendly legislator who had opposed the GOP’s effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Democrats, who had persuaded businesswoman Chrissy Houlahan to run in the new district, now expect to face a weaker Republican nominee in November.