The West Chester Daily Local News is reporting that popular Chester County state Sen. Andy Dinniman will not seek the Democratic nomination for the 6th Congressional District in 2010.

Most political observers familiar with the 6th District agree that the nomination was Dinniman's for the taking.

But Dinniman told the Daily Local News he's afraid the 6th District, now held by Republican Jim Gerlach, would be gerrymandered out of existence after the 2010 Census is completed.

"If you ran in the 6th District, you would work hard to get elected, and then your district might disappear," Dinniman told the newspaper.

In other words, Dinniman could have won the seat, but might be out of a job in 2012 or 2014. There has been speculation that those very same concerns led Gerlach to announce he will not seek re-election, opting instead for a run for the GOP nomination for Pennsylvania governor.

The question I have is this: What does Dinniman know about the 2010 Pennsylvania legislative elections? The Pennsylvania Legislature will decide how to redraw the 6th District lines and if Republicans control the Legislature, they can change the 6th to make it easier for a Republican to win.

Is Dinniman conceding that Republicans will take back control of the state House next year? Sure sounds like it.

With Dinniman out, the only announced Democratic candidate is former newspaperman Doug Pike, who has never held elected office.

On the Republican side, longtime state Rep. Curt Schroder and Chester County Recorder of Deeds Ryan Costello have announced their candidacy for the 6th Congressional seat.

Read more about Dinniman's decision in the West Chester Daily Local News' Web site.