Pa. Congressman's Affair Threatens Seat

TUNKHANNOCK, Pa. -- Sex could be the undoing of a family values Republican.

Four-term Rep. Don Sherwood recently had one of the safest seats in Congress as his conservatism played well in his heavily GOP, rural district in northeastern Pennsylvania. Democrats didn't even bother fielding a candidate in the last two elections.

Then last year Sherwood admitted to a five-year extramarital affair with a woman 35 years his junior. He settled a lawsuit claiming he had choked her.

Constituents were stunned. Many turned angry. And some may be turning to his Democratic opponent.

Sherwood won the GOP primary with only 56 percent of the vote even though he faced a political novice who spent less than $5,000 on her campaign.

"I made a mistake that hurt my family and has disappointed some of my constituents," Sherwood said in an interview. "Their disappointment is understandable and I've apologized, and I'm working hard to win them back."

That could be a tall order. Frances Pohonche, 81, a retired bridal dressmaker from Center Moreland, said she always voted for Sherwood but won't again. "I just don't like the man," she said. "He cheated on his wife."

Sherwood, 65, has owned a successful Chevrolet dealership since 1967 and spent 22 years on the school board before running for Congress in 1998.

He won two tough races against Patrick Casey, son of late Democratic Gov. Robert Casey, before his district was reconfigured after the 2000 Census to make it safer for Republicans. Now Republican voters outnumber Democrats by 55,000; lacking a Democratic challenger in 2004, he collected 93 percent of the vote.

The first sign of trouble for Sherwood came in May 2005, when media outlets began reporting that police had investigated an alleged altercation between Sherwood and his mistress, Cynthia Ore, in September 2004. Although criminal charges were never filed, Ore filed a lawsuit against Sherwood, claiming he had choked her while giving her a back rub at his Capitol Hill apartment.

Sherwood denied abusing Ore, but he admitted to an affair with her, apologizing for the "pain and embarrassment" he caused his family and supporters. The married father of three reached a confidential settlement with Ore last November, hoping to put the affair behind him.

His Democratic opponent, former Pentagon intelligence analyst Chris Carney, alludes to Sherwood's personal conduct in a television ad.