Altmire - Hart Rematch

From "Pennsylvania Dem Altmire Faces Likely Rematch With Ex-Rep. Hart," by Greg Giroux, cqpolitics, 1/25:

Pennsylvania Republican Melissa A. Hart, who in 2006 lost the House seat she had held for three terms, now has a clear path to a rematch with freshman Democratic Rep. Jason Altmire in the Pittsburgh-area 4th Congressional District.

Ron Francis, a former councilman in Allegheny County, is withdrawing from competition with Hart in the April 22 Republican primary, according to a statement from Francis that was circulated on Thursday by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC). The committee is the political arm of the Republican minority in the U.S. House, and will provide support to Hart in her effort to unseat Altmire.

The rematch will provide the GOP with one of its strongest bids to take back a seat that the party lost in 2006. Hart, who will turn 46 years old on April 4, was regarded as a rising star in the conservative wing of the Republican Party prior to the 2006 election. She won her 2004 election with 63 percent of the vote, running 9 percentage points ahead of President Bush at the top of the ticket in the 4th District.