Platts to Retire From House
By Billy House, Sean Sullivan and Scott Bland // January 17, 2012 | 3:50 p.m.
Rep. Todd Platts, R-Pa., co-chair of the Congressional Heart and Stroke Coalition talks about education about atrial fibrillation (AFib), Thursday, Sept. 15, 2011, during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Rep. Todd Platts, R-Pa. will announce on Tuesday afternoon that he will retire at the end of this year, his sixth term in Congress.
York County, Pa., Republican Committee Chairman Bob Wilson confirmed that the congressman has given him notice of that decision in a telephone call on Tuesday afternoon.
Platts' office says a statement is to soon be released.
Wilson said Platts decision leaves him "shocked and surprised. I don't know if anyone saw this coming."
But he said Platts described his decision as being based on family reasons, "a decision he made with his wife and his children."
Wilson said he remains confident that the district that Platts would have run in will remain in Republican hands.
He said a number of potential GOP candidates are out there, "but I'm not prepared to mention any of those names, until they give me permission."
Platts was first elected in 2000 and serves on the House Armed Services Committee as well as the Education & the Workforce and Oversight and Government Reform Committees.
A moderate Republican -- he ranked as the 157th most conservative member of the House according to National Journal's 2010 vote ratings -- Platts was a supporter of McCain-Feingold campaign finance legislation.
Platts's new 4th District is slightly less Republican than the old 19th District he represented, which was renumbered during redistricting because Pennsylvania lost a congressional seat. John McCain won about 53 percent of the presidential vote in the new district compared to 57 percent in the old district. It's still solidly Republican, though -- George W. Bush won over 61 percent there in 2004.
The new district still contains all of Adams and York Counties but a smaller slice of Cumberland County, while absorbing part of Harrisburg.
Platts is the sixth House Republican to retire outright this cycle, joining Reps. Jerry Lewis, R-Calif., Wally Herger, R-Calif., Elton Gallegly, R-Calif., Steve Austria, R-Ohio, and Geoff Davis, R-Ky. Six other Republicans are leaving the House to run for other offices.
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