Montco Commissioner May Run for Congress

Now that 6th District U.S. Congressman Jim Gerlach ain’t running for re-electing (woe be you if you’re a moderate Republican these days, amirite Jon Runyan?), Montco County Commissioner Leslie Richards may be gunning to fill his shoes.

Richards, the 46-year-old Whitemarsh Democrat, confirmed reports Wednesday that she is considering running for the 6th District congressional seat that is being abandoned by incumbent Republican James Gerlach of Chester County.

Richards, a former township supervisor serving the third year of her first four-year term as county commissioner, said she had been approached by representatives of both the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and Emily’s List, a national campaign organization that supports pro-choice Democratic women running for Congress and governor.

Richards does not currently live in the 6th (she lives in the 13th, which is also up for grabs right now) but then again, she doesn’t have to live in the 6th to run. If Richards gave up her seat and then was replaced by a Republican, the county would be giving up the Democratic control it took 130 years to regain. (Josh Shapiro is the other Democratic commissioner.) [Intelligence]