Argall makes bid for Rhoades' Senate seat official

The No. 2 Republican in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives wants to move up to the Pennsylvania Senate.

Rep. David Argall, who has represented the 124th House District since 1985 and just won re-election to a new two-year term, announced today he will seek the 29th Senate seat held by James Rhoades, who was killed in a car crash last month.

Rhoades, who was first elected to the state Senate in 1980, won re-election posthumously on Nov. 4, ensuring a special election to fill his seat.

Argall told the Reading Eagle that he will not seek another term as House Republican Whip to concentrate on a Senate run. A date for the special election has not been set. It could be delayed to the 2009 primary election.

One of the reasons Argall wants to serve in the Senate, he told reporter Mary Young, is that he could be more effective with the GOP majority in the Senate rather than the minority in the House, which is controlled by Democrats.

Argall has been the target of criticism from conservative Republicans because he supported the 2005 pay raise and also helped get GOP votes to pass Gov. Ed Rendell's tax-and-spend agenda since 2003.

The 29th Senate District stretches across six counties including Berks and Schuylkill.

Read more about Argall's political future at the newspaper's Web site.