Numbers tell story in 6th District
Houlahan, McCauley set to face off in November for Congressional seat
Here are some numbers to consider in the race for Pennsylvania’s 6th Congressional District:
• One. As in, the first time in modern memory that all of the voters of Chester County will vote in the same congressional district, since the Pennsylvania Supreme Court redrew the state’s election map in a controversial decision that cut the number of districts splitting the county into three parcels. The 6th District now includes the entirety of the county, plus a portion of southern Berks County and the city of Reading.
• Two. As in, the number of candidates seeking the nomination in the Democratic and Republican parties: Chrissy Houlahan, a former Air Force officer and businesswoman from Easttown, and Gregory McCauley, an attorney and businessman from Kennett.
• Zero. As in, the number of years of combined experience
in elective office between the two candidates. Houlahan and McCauley are both running for public office for the first time, energized by their individual perceptions of failure in Washington — Houlahan for a progressive agenda and McCauley for a conservative one.
• One million six-hundred forty-three thousand two-hundred thirtysix ($1,643,236), versus fifty-thousand thirty-four ($50,034). As in, the cash on hand reported in April by the Houlahan campaign compared to the amount of money that McCauley has in his campaign’s bank account. Houlahan has been raising money from across the country, mostly from liberal groups, since she began her campaign last winter, while McCauley has only been working the fundraising circuit since early this year, and seriously since incumbent U.S. Rep. Ryan Costello, who has held the seat since 2015, announced he was withdrawing from the campaign because of a toxic political atmosphere.
• And finally, the vote totals. In Chester County, with 100 percent of the vote counted, Houlahan had 28,912 votes on the Democratic side while McCauley had 25,812 on the Republican ballot. In Berks County, with 60 percent of the vote in, those numbers were 5,890 votes for Houlahan and 5,597 for McCauley, with 99 of the 101 precincts in the district reporting.
All vote totals are unofficial until certified.
Houlahan, 50, has thrown herself into the race full-time, after leaving a job she held for four years as chief operating and financial officer for Springboard Collaborative, a nonprofit addressing the literacy gap for financially disadvantaged students and their families.
She was also a captain in the U.S. Air Force and a teacher with the Teach for American program in Philadelphia. Houlahan, an MIT and Stanford graduate, also was an executive with the And1 shoe manufacturing company.
In her time on the campaign trail after first announcing a run against Costello, Houlahan has been endorsed by top Democratic leaders, including U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, former Vice President Joe Biden, and state Rep. Carolyn Comitta, D-156, of West Chester. In a campaign stop last month in West Chester, she said that even though she is running unopposed in the primary she would not take anything for granted.
In a statement issued by her campaign after the polls closed Tuesday, Houlahan thanked voters.
“I am so grateful to the thousands here in Pennsylvania’s 6th Congressional District who voted for our positive vision today,” said Houlahan. “I launched my campaign for Congress over a year ago, and since then have met with thousands of voters and families throughout southeastern Pennsylvania. From my time on the trail, it is clear that families here are looking for a change in Congress that will focus on creating economic opportunity and putting the interests of middle class families ahead of the super wealthy and special interests. I look forward to a spirited general election campaign, and if elected, will bring my experience to Congress to create good jobs, expand access and affordability to health care, improve and strengthen education, fight for veterans and hold this administration accountable.”
McCauley, as a neophyte candidate who entered the race to challenge an incumbent who is no longer on the ballot, knows what he is up against.
“It’s been a steep learning curve,” said McCauley in an interview after declaring his candidacy. “But I am going to give it the best shot I can.”
He described his campaign as one for fiscal conservatism, and said he was energized when Costello voted against the changes Trump wanted in the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, which McCauley has vowed to repeal.
“My clients are all small business people, and this has been crippling,” he said. “We need to fix health care in this country, and to address the entire (federal) budget at one time. You can’t address anything until you cut all the fat out of the budget. Most politicians don’t even understand the budget, and our country is going bankrupt.”
His supporters include state Rep. Steve Barrar, R-160, of Chadds Ford.
McCauley said he promotes his candidacy as “a conservative Republican,” but also added that he is not overly concerned with political labels, and does not take stances on social issues. “I’m not a Democrat, I’m not a Republican. I’m an American.”