In the meantime, please take a few minutes to thank the members of the legislative branches of government who worked on our behalf to encourage the Supreme Court toward this position.

US Senate
Bob Casey

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Arlen Specter

• Twitter – @SenArlenSpecter
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US Congress
Jason Altmire

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Christopher Carney

• Twitter – @ChrisCarneyPa10
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Charlie Dent

• Twitter – @DentforCongress
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Jim Gerlach

• Twitter – @JimGerlach
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Tim Holden

• Twitter – @TimHoldenPA17
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Paul Kanjorski

• Twitter – @kanjo4congress
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Patrick Murphy

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Tim Murphy

• Twitter – @RepTimMurphy
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Joe Pitts

• Twitter – @JoePitts4PA
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Todd Platts

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Bill Shuster

• Twitter – @RepBillShuster
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Glenn Thompson

• Twitter – @CongressmanGT
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State Officials
Tom Corbett

• Twitter – @CorbettforGov
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Joe Scarnati

Karen Boback

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Michele Brooks

Bryan Cutler

• Twitter – @RepBryanCutler
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Bill DeWeese

Glen Grell

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Rob Kauffman

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Mark Keller

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John Maher

Daryl Metcalfe

• Twitter – @DarylMetcalfe

Merle Phillips

Kathy Rapp

RoseMarie Swanger

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Will Tallman

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Katie True

But what does a special Senate election in Massachusetts have to do with local politics in Pennsylvania? Quite a lot, actually.

The anticipated struggle of incumbents and mood that independents may continue to break right-of-center this year means that retirements will likely kick into high gear over the next month or two. Already, we have witnessed the announcements of a handful of NRA A or A+ rated incumbents who will not seek re-election in the fall.

• Speaker of the House Keith McCall (D-122)
• Rep. Paul Clymer (R-105)
• Rep. Merle Phillips (R-108)
• Rep. Russ Fairchild (R-85)
• Rep. Katie True (R-41)
• Rep. Will Gabig (R-199)
• Rep. Don Walko (D-20)
• Rep. Craig Dally (R-138)
• Rep. Rich Grucela (D-137)
• Sen. Ray Musto (D-14)

Some may be retiring hoping that their seat is more likely to stay in the hands of their current party.  Others may anticipate challenges during either a primary or general election.  Regardless, the retirement announcements are not likely to let up anytime soon. At least three anti-gun incumbents also plan to leave office in 2010.

The Pennsylvania election calendar gives incumbents some time to delay their announcements into the new year. Nominating petitions (to run on a party primary ballot) are not due until early March. If more incumbents get nervous, expect to see more retirement announcements through the next few weeks.

In order to make sure the seats listed above stay in pro-gun hands, we’re going to need volunteers for campaigns in each of the districts. Please contact your local EVC to find out how you can contribute.

UPDATE: Word now comes that pro-gun Rep. Paul Clymer will run for re-election.

UPDATE II: And the retirements continue with Sen. Ray Musto and Rep. Will Gabig, two A rated voices in Harrisburg.

UPDATE III: Thanks to collective efforts in the political blogosphere, we believe we’ve rounded out the list as of the end of January. This list now includes Reps. Don Walko, Craig Dally, and Rich Grucela. All held A ratings from NRA.