U.S. Rep. Fred Keller ends his run for his reelection in competitive Republican primary

Keller’s withdrawal from the race follows the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s adoption of a new legislative map.

• Anne Danahy
  BioRecent Stories

  

  Anne Danahy has been a reporter at WPSU since fall 2017. She was a reporter for nearly 12 years at the Centre Daily Times in State College, Pennsylvania, where she earned a number of awards for her coverage of issues including the impact of natural gas development on communities.
  
  She earned a bachelor's degree in communications from Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and a master's in media studies from Penn State.
  
  She worked as a writer at Penn State, including with the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute. She’s a volunteer host at C-NET, Centre County's government-education access station.

 Ed Mahon / PA Post

Republican Fred Keller speaks during a campaign stop on May 2, 2019, in Lycoming County.

Facing a new legislative map and competitive Republican primary, Pennsylvania Congressman Fred Keller announced Monday that he won’t run for reelection.

Keller’s withdrawal from the race follows the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s adoption of a new legislative map, that broke up his district. Pennsylvania lost a seat in the U.S. House, going from 18 to 17 seats, based on the latest U.S. Census.

Keller had initially said he was running for reelection in the Republican primary in the new 9th district, which runs from northeast Pennsylvania down to Lebanon County. He likely would have faced Republican incumbent Dan Meuser.

But, Keller changed course and criticized the state Supreme Court for what he called overstepping its authority.

“With control of Congress — and the direction of our nation — at stake, this election is bigger than any one person,” Keller said in an announcement. “Rather than pit Republicans against Republicans, which the congressional map chosen by the liberal Pennsylvania Supreme Court does, I am committed to helping take back the House, holding Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate seat, and electing a conservative governor. To that end, I am not going to run against another member of Pennsylvania’s Republican Congressional Delegation.”

Keller has served in the U.S. House since winning a special election in 2019. Before that he was a member of the state House, representing most of Snyder and Union counties.

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