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Lois Murphy

July 21, 2008 - 12:52pm

Gerlach proves difficult to beat

By Alex Isenstadt
Category: House
Tags: Bob Casey, EMILY's List, DCCC, Ed Rendell, Jim Gerlach, Bob Roggio, Dan Wofford, Lois Murphy, Harris Wofford

WASHINGTON - In 2004, Rep. Jim Gerlach (R-Upper Uwchlan Township) campaigned with George W. Bush in a difficult re-election race for his 6th Congressional District seat.

In the end, Bush lost the district to John Kerry (D-Mass.) by almost 11,000 votes. But Gerlach would go on to defeat his Democratic opponent, attorney Lois Murphy, by a more-than 6,000 vote margin. By the time the dust settled, Murphy had spent almost $2 million, accusing Gerlach of misleading of fiscal issues and tying the incumbent to then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas).

Two years later, Murphy was back for a rematch. In a favorable Democratic environment, Murphy doubled her expenditures and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and liberal-aligned women’s group EMILY’s List engaged. Democrats would go on to win 31 seats and the House majority in 2006, but Gerlach proved hard to beat. The Republican dispatched of Murphy by a margin of more than 3,000 votes.

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