The congressman from the 6th District is Jim Gerlach, a moderate Republican elected in 2002. After surviving two of the House’s fiercest re-election battles in 2004 and 2006, he abandoned a bid for governor in 2010 and retained his seat with ease. His decision to remain in the House earned him a prized slot on the Ways and Means Committee. Read More

The congressman from the 6th District is Jim Gerlach, a moderate Republican elected in 2002. After surviving two of the House’s fiercest re-election battles in 2004 and 2006, he abandoned a bid for governor in 2010 and retained his seat with ease. His decision to remain in the House earned him a prized slot on the Ways and Means Committee.

Gerlach grew up in Ellwood City, Pa., midway between Pittsburgh and Youngstown, Ohio. He graduated from Dickinson College and its law school, just west of Harrisburg. He continued moving east, settled in Chester County, and practiced law. He was elected to the state House in 1990 and to the state Senate in 1994. When Republicans in 2002 created a new district in suburban Philadelphia, Gerlach was the obvious intended beneficiary. He had spirited competition from Democrat Dan Wofford, a former adviser to Democratic Gov. Robert Casey. Wofford had not previously run for office, but his name was well known; his father, Harris Wofford, was elected to the Senate in a 1991 special election. Gerlach ran on his legislative accomplishments, including votes to expand Pennsylvania’s prescription drug program for low-income seniors. Wofford attacked Gerlach as a career politician. Polls showed the race close, and national Republicans spent more than $1.5 million on ads for Gerlach. The outcome was not clear until the early-morning hours, when Gerlach won 51%-49%.

In the House, Gerlach’s voting record is mostly moderate, though it is more conservative on foreign policy. He has become increasingly loyal to his party. After joining Democrats in 2009 on expanding the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, a food safety overhaul, and several other social issues, he toed the GOP line on major votes in 2010. Earlier, he was a strong supporter of the Bush-era tax cuts and eliminating the marriage penalty in the tax code, but opposed the Bush administration’s proposal to create personal retirement accounts in Social Security. He was one of the deciding “yes” votes on the 2005 Central America Free Trade Agreement, which came days after Bush adviser Karl Rove and first lady Laura Bush each held fundraisers for him. He denied any connection.

On Ways and Means, Gerlach has worked on several measures that generated bipartisan support, such as a proposal to make permanent a tax depreciation for restaurant improvements and a bill he had pushed earlier to require dog breeders in high-volume “puppy mills” to be federally licensed and inspected regularly. In October 2005, his late vote helped Republican leaders to win narrow passage of a bill to facilitate construction of new oil refineries.

With House Republicans seemingly ensconced in the minority in July 2009, Gerlach announced his candidacy for governor, fashioning himself as a fiscal conservative and social moderate in the mold of popular former Gov. Tom Ridge. But Gerlach faced a steep battle in winning over Western Pennsylvania voters, and his poll numbers fell after Ridge threw his support behind Attorney General Tom Corbett. Gerlach withdrew in January 2010, leaving the Republican nomination open to Corbett, who eventually won the post.

After brushing aside a tea party challenger in the Republican primary for his House seat, Gerlach won re-election with ease for the first time that fall, over Democratic physician Manan Trivedi, 57%-43%.

Gerlach previously had been a prime Democratic target. In 2004, he faced Democratic attorney Lois Murphy, who managed Ed Rendell’s 2002 gubernatorial campaign in Montgomery County. The well-financed Murphy made it an unexpectedly close contest, but Gerlach won, again by 51%-49%. Two years later, Murphy ran again with strong encouragement from EMILY’s List and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. She was better-known and the issues were similar, but the campaign rhetoric was harsher. Gerlach may have benefited from more aggressive attacks by his campaign on alleged inconsistencies in Murphy’s agenda. For the third consecutive election, Gerlach won by 51%-49%. In 2008, Gerlach had a more than 3-to-1 fundraising advantage over Democrat Robert Roggio, a retired corporate executive. But he still managed only a 52%-48% win.