Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Todd Platts to retire
Rep. Todd Platts (R-Pa.) will announce today that he will not seek reelection this year, according to a local Republican who received a call from the congressman.
Former Cumberland County GOP Chairman Dick Stewart told The Fix that Platts called him early this afternoon to give him the news.
“He said he’s been thinking about retiring for some time,” Stewart said. “He felt his children were of an age where he wanted to spend some 
Rep. Todd Platts (R-Pa.) speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington in September. Platts is leaving Congress after 12 years, saying he's a believer in term limits. The Pennsylvania Republican announced Tuesday he wouldn't be seeking a seventh term this year, citing his history of sponsoring 12-year term limit proposals. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)more time with them.”
The news was first reported by Roll Call’s Shira Toeplitz.
While Platts’s retirement comes as a bit of a surprise from such a young member — the congressman is turning 50 years old in March and was first elected in 2000 — it’s not expected to have much of an impact on the 2012 election.
Platts comes from a safe district that remained so under a new congressional redistricting map passed by Pennsylvania Republicans. It got less safe — dropping from a district that would have given Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) 57 percent of the vote to one that would have given him 53 percent — but it still didn’t figure to be a top target for Democrats.
Platts has gotten some grief in recent years from the tea party and the conservative Club for Growth, but he didn’t appear to face any danger in the coming election.
“He’s got the tea party up here upset with him,” Stewart said. “Maybe he decided he just doesn’t need the hassle.”
Platts represents the York County-based 19th district in southern Pennsylvania, but his district was re-numbered the 4th district in redistricting.
Platts becomes the sixth Republican to announce his retirement without seeking higher office, joining a trio of California Republicans who made the same announcement last week. Seven other Republicans are running for higher office.
Nine Democrats are retiring outright, while eight are seeking other office.
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