Needless to say, a surprise here especially after only one election in the new, favorable district. Go figure. Before this news went public, the buzz was that he was leaving to take on Corbett. Nothing else made sense. But his team threw water on that pretty quickly. He isn't running.
Even with the other issues we will have this year, the Dems won't get this seat. We have some strong candidates.
My take on the potential candidates (as requested):
State Senator Rafferty is a popular official. He's moderate and well known. Not sure he'd give up his spot now but he said he's considering it.
Ryan Costello is a young county commissioner. Keep an eye on him. Also keep an eye on his Republican colleague commissioner, Terence Farrell. He's worth some research if you're really interested in this race.
The Chester county GOP chair, Val DiGiorgio, is rumored as well. Obvious advantage would be institutional support. He's also the current county controller so he has electability cred outside of his party advantages.
I doubt Sam Rohrer runs but he has a strong following that could propel him to victory in the primary. And yes, he could win the General.
For the Dems: McGinty could make it interesting but I don't know how strong her ties are out there. She's originally from my area (literally five minutes from me). She said she definitely isn't doing it. Senator Casey's brother is also in this new district.
There's a buzz about this guy Michael Parrish, a former Republican with a background in finance. I'm guessing he'll be the guy if Casey doesn't run.
It's amazing how ignorant our Moderate Hero is. Must be unaware of redistricting. Not a safe GOP seat but we are certainly favored.
I think he's in Allyson Schwartz's PA-13 (which is also open) -- he was definitely there in the 2000s but redistricting might've moved him out.
I was in the old 13th. I'm now a street outside of it thanks to redistricting. I'm in PA 1 now. I am no where near the new PA 6. I live in Philadelphia.