Tom Killion probably feels like putting the wagons in a circle.
Instead, he put out a press release. The Republican state senator from Middletown announced he will seek re-election to another term representing the 9th District, including parts of Delaware and Chester counties.
You'll have to forgive him if he feels a bit like the last man standing.
The last couple of elections have not been good for the Delco GOP. And that includes those we send out the Turnpike to Harrisburg.
In the last election, Tom McGarrigle lost his 26th Disrict seat in the state Senate, falling to Swarthmore Mayor Tim Kearney. Democrat Dave Delloso took the 162nd seat vacated by Nick Miccarelli. Jenn O'Mara showed Alex Charlton the door in the 165th in Springfield. Mike Zabel ousted Jamie Santora in Upper Darby's 163rd.
Longtime state Rep. Steve Barrar, R-160 of Upper Chichester, announced he would not seek re-election this November.
About the only Republican who survived was Killion's fellow Middletown resident Chris Quinn, ironically in the 168th House district that Killion used to hold before he ran successfully for the Senate.
The GOP has two continuing problems: Democrats now hold a 33,000-voter edge in registered voters, and the margin is getting wider, not smaller; and then there is that fellow who will be at the top of the ticket come November.
President Donald Trump has proved to be something of an anchor around the GOP's neck here in Delco. McGarrigle, who now heads the county Republican Party, went so far as to point directly at the president's unpopularity for the shellackings the GOP has suffered at the polls.
There is at least one familiar face looking to take on Killion.
Longtime Delco resident and labor leader John Kane is seeking the Democratic nomination, along with several candidates from Chester County.
Kane recently moved into the 9th District. He wages an unsuccessful battle with McGarrigle for the 26th District Senate seat in 2014.
Killion has placed himself in the moderate wing of the GOP, often butting heads with those in his own party on controversial issues, such as gun control.
He also has championed legislation to crack down on repeat DUI drivers in the wake of the tragedy in which a six-time DUI offender slammed into a car, killing Deana Eckman of Brookhaven. The law has been dubbed 'Deana's Law.'
Will that be enough to fend off another blue wave in the county?
If you're looking for a bellwether race in November, keep your eye on this battle for the 9th District Senate seat, which has been in Republican hands for decades.
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