ASHINGTON, April 26 - Representative Jack Quinn, a six-term Republican from the Buffalo area, said on Monday he has decided not to seek re-election this year, which could potentially deal a blow to New York State's delegation in Congress.Posted on 04/26/2004 10:11:29 PM PDT by NYC GOP Chick
ASHINGTON, April 26 - Representative Jack Quinn, a six-term Republican from the Buffalo area, said on Monday he has decided not to seek re-election this year, which could potentially deal a blow to New York State's delegation in Congress.
Mr. Quinn, 53, of Hamburg, is the second Republican from upstate New York to announce his intention to leave Congress at the end of the year, following the elections this fall. Amo Houghton, 77, of Corning was the first.
Mr. Quinn's retirement could further erode the influence of New York's heavily Democratic delegation in Washington, where Republicans control the White House and both chambers of Congress. Mr. Quinn is one of 10 Republicans in the 29-member delegation, and in his district Democrats outnumber Republicans 203,000 to 123,000. More than that, Al Gore carried the district with 53 percent of the vote, compared to the 41 percent won by George W. Bush - though Democrats there tend to be moderate to conservative. That means the Democratic Party could pick up the seat, a troublesome prospect for a delegation sidelined in Washington because of its overwhelmingly Democratic composition. Mr. Quinn said that before making his announcement, he had spoken with J. Dennis Hastert, speaker of the House, as well as local and national Republican leaders about his decision.
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