A leading environmental advocate in Pennsylvania's Legislature said he'll run for Congress to succeed the retiring U.S. Rep. Pat Meehan in southeastern Pennsylvania.
Democratic state Rep. Greg Vitali of Delaware County announced Monday that he'll seek the party's nomination in a 7th District criticized as one of the nation's most gerrymandered districts.
Meehan said last week that he wouldn't run again. His statement came after a Jan. 20 New York Times article disclosed that Meehan had used taxpayer money to settle a former aide's sexual harassment allegation.
Pennsylvania's Democratic-controlled Supreme Court decided a gerrymandering case last week by ordering the Republican-drawn boundaries of the state's 18 congressional districts to be redrawn within weeks. First elected in 1992, Vitali is in his 13th term.
Several other Democratic candidates have already announced their candidacy.
