Rep. Ryan Costello is not a happy camper.
That gives him something in common with a lot of other Republicans.
Costello, R-6, of West Goshen, has decided not to seek re-election. He's still ticked about the new congressional map enacted by the state Supreme Court. It took what was already going to be a tough re-election fight and made it an even more challenging uphill slog.
The justices took away some areas that Costello could count on for GOP votes, and added the city of Reading, which is loaded with Democratic voters.
So Costello announced this week that he would not seek re-election.
That left is fellow Republicans in a bind.
Here's why.
Costello has until 5 p.m. today to tell the Pennsylvania Department of State if he wants to remove his name from the ballot. He has several options, none of them especially palatable to Republicans.
If he pulls his name, that would leave Chadds Ford tax attorney Gregory McCauley as the only Republican name on the ballot. It's not likely Republicans are going to be too thrilled about having the little-known, underfunded McCauley carry the party's banner.
They could try to mount a write-in campaign. Or they could challenge the signatures on McCauley's nominating petitions in an attempt to get him booted from the ballot.
That would mean there would be no GOP name on the May 15 Primary ballot, meaning the party would have to drive a write-in campaign for the candidate of their choice. But there is a danger in that. Democrat Chrissy Houlahan, who is running a very high-profile campaign with lots of national money flowing into the district, could run a write-in campaign of her own on the GOP ballot. In effect, it's possible she could win on both ballots and lock up the seat long before the November general election.
No wonder many local Republicans are less than thrilled with the timing of Costello's decision.
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