A Dogfight Five Months Out
READING, PA.-- Jim Gerlach munches on a bowl of granola and sips coffee with a group of Rotarians before taking the lectern and talking about the war. In January, Gerlach visited Iraq and Afghanistan, and the two-term Republican has been sharing his findings ever since: Troop morale is high, capturing Osama bin Laden is only a matter of time, and--generals on the ground insist--2006 is a watershed year for the war on terrorism. But the crowd has tough questions, like why Congress hasn't done more to ensure that troops have sufficient body armor. Gerlach points to a series of hearings that Congress has held, but an unconvinced questioner has follow-ups.
Gerlach was first elected in 2002, but he's had to fight tooth and nail for his seat. With a divided district, a determined returning challenger, and internal polls showing Iraq on the minds of most voters, getting re-elected this time won't come easily either, that's for sure. Gerlach and his opponent, Democrat Lois Murphy, an attorney, began sniping at each other almost immediately: He claimed that she cribbed her ethics pledge. She denied it and challenged his voting record. The rhetoric was vitriolic--and that was back in March. This campaign is at full tilt, and voting day is five months away.
Close watch. Few races are being watched more closely than the one for Pennsylvania's Sixth Congressional District. The Sixth is one of the most divided districts in the country--and one that encompasses both former industrial towns like Reading and some affluent Philadelphia suburbs. In 2004, Gerlach beat Murphy by a mere 6,400 votes out of more than 300,000 cast.
Fifty miles south, at her headquarters in the small burg of Narberth, in a cluttered office filled with pizza boxes and campaign signs, candidate Murphy is hoping to capitalize on public disillusionment with both Congress and the war. "This Congress has done nothing to hold anyone accountable, and voters can see that," she says. From ethics, to oversight, to the war, Murphy's message is that of opportunities squandered. "This election will be about [Republicans'] colossal mismanagement and the devastating results." If elected, Murphy has promised to forgo a pay raise until the federal minimum wage is increased. A typical election-year promise, perhaps, but such moves may have a special resonance. Last month, after the General Assembly members raised their own salaries, irate voters turned out 17 incumbent state legislators in the primaries.
Back at the Rotary Club meeting, Pete Miller, a middle-aged financial analyst and self-identified Republican, wants to hear Gerlach talk more about the war. "I simply can't believe what I hear in the media," he says, picking at a plate of eggs and toast after Gerlach's speech. "My UPS man just returned from serving in Iraq and says that things are not as bad as they are portrayed." That's the way Gerlach sees it too. He just hopes the Sixth District is listening.
This story appears in the June 19, 2006 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.
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