PA-06

GOP-Tea Party Turmoil: PA-06 Primary Heats Up With Gerlach Back In The Race

Christina Bellantoni | January 12, 2010, 9:36AM

Rep. Jim Gerlach (R-PA) and PA-06 candidate Steve Welch (R).

The race for Pennsylvania's sixth Congressional district was turned on its head with Rep. Jim Gerlach's decision to seek reelection. Thanks to the turmoil, a candidate once backed by the Republican establishment is reaching out to the tea party movement.

PA-06 sparked our interest last week as several GOP contenders sought to identify with tea partiers and portrayed businessman Steve Welch as the National Republican Congressional Committee favorite.

But when Gerlach ended his gubernatorial bid and said he wants to keep his seat, the NRCC decided it had to support one of the Republican party's leaders, leaving Welch in the cold.

State Rep. Curt Schroeder, the candidate who seemed to reach out most to the tea partiers ended his bid last night and Welch is charging ahead, with a top aide wanting us to know Welch likes the tea party, too.

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