Democrat focusing on Berks County voters in 6th District race

Democratic congressional candidate Manan Trivedi is banking on an unusual strategy to win in a district that narrowly favored a Republican congressman in the last four elections.

The Reading physician aims to pull votes from what he considers an untapped Democratic well in Berks County, a section of the sprawling Sixth Congressional District that has chosen Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Gerlach by growing margins.

Trivedi, who grew up in Fleetwood and lives in Birdsboro, Berks County, hopes his hometown appeal will tilt votes his way.

"I think being from Berks County makes a big difference," he said. "If they can feel a connection with a candidate, they'll support him."

It could be a long shot. Voters in Berks County, who typically make up about 30 percent of the district's turnout, favored Gerlach by 7,752 votes in 2008, a year when Democrats rushed to the polls to vote for President Obama.

"In a sense, it's a risky strategy," said John Kennedy, a political science professor at West Chester University. "It's a low-turnout election, so generally you want to maximize your voters and get out the vote, rather than trying to flip voters."

Gerlach campaign spokesman Mark Campbell argued that the swing-voter households are scattered throughout the district, not isolated in Berks County, which tends to be more conservative. The heavily gerrymandered district stretches from Bala Cynwyd to Reading, and includes parts of Berks, Montgomery and Chester Counties and a voting district in Lehigh County.

"Voters only vote geography in the absence of issues," Campbell said, adding that the economy is the key to this election.

Gerlach's margins of victory have been razor-thin since the district was created in 2001. Gerlach won with his widest margin in 2008, beating Democrat Bob Roggio with 52 percent of the vote. In 2002, Gerlach beat Democrat Dan Wofford with 51 percent.

Democratic candidates tend to win in Montgomery County and, therefore, focus their campaigns there. None of Gerlach's previous opponents has hailed from Berks County.

"I absolutely think we have always lost this race in Berks County," said Tom Herman, chairman of the Berks County Democratic Party. He said that he expects Democrats will hold or expand their lead in Montgomery County, but that previous Democratic congressional candidates have "never been able to wrap their arms around Berks County."

Democrats have a registration edge in Berks County, 48 percent to 39 percent. Parts of Reading, a city with 50 percent Hispanic population, are included in the Sixth Congressional District.

Some Reading voters last week said they would vote based on the candidates' plans for job security and health care. But Trivedi's background, a son of Indian immigrants who grew up in the county, impressed some.

"It's like your next-door neighbor - they care more about you," said Scott Trump, 43, a lifelong Berks County resident who lives in Reading.

"It would be nice to have somebody from here," said Rinesha Nicholson, 31, a bartender who moved from Philadelphia to Reading five years ago. "If they're from here, then they know what's going on, they know the issues here."

If turnout is low, Trivedi's efforts in Berks County might be fruitless, Kennedy said.

"The Democratic vote in that district tends to be in the Montgomery County area," Kennedy said. "Going after the more Republican areas and trying to flip them is probably a more risky strategy."

But in a race that's typically close, it's also possible that Trivedi's plan might bring him just enough votes to matter.

"He's going to be throwing as many Hail Mary passes as he can, and sometimes you get lucky," said Randall Miller, a professor and political historian at St. Joseph's University. "There's nothing at the top of the tickets that's going to drive a lot of people to come out to vote." He said Trivedi could be thinking, "OK, where can I find enough votes?"