A Chester County Democrat hoping to unseat Republican U.S. Rep. Joe Pitts in the fall lives outside the newly redrawn 16th Congressional District's boundaries, geographic and legal data show.
Aryanna Strader's home in a section of Kennett Township was moved into the 7th Congressional District, now represented by Republican U.S. Rep. Pat Meehan of Delaware County, during the redistricting process, maps show.
That doesn't exclude her from running for the 16th District seat. While the U.S. Constitution requires House members to live in their home states, it does not mandate they live in the districts they represent.
And though running for another district isn't unprecedented, it is rare.
Strader, a U.S. Army veteran who owns a consulting firm, said she decided to run for the 16th District seat because she considers the Kennett Square community her home. The borough of Kennett Square is in the 16th.
"I live three-quarters of a mile outside the district," she said. "And prior to December, I was in the 16th. It's my community. My kids go to school in the district. It's where my life is, essentially. I feel I'm a true representation of the people who live there."
Strader has lived in Chester County only since July.
Prior to that she lived in Albany, N.Y., and Chambersburg.
Strader, 29, is endorsed for the 16th by the Chester County Democratic Committee, and she is expected to pick up the backing of the Lancaster County Democrats Saturday. She said she is exercising her constitutional right to run for a district she doesn't live in.
Reached for a response, Gabe Neville, a spokesman for Pitts, responded: "She's 100 percent correct. It's a free country."
He declined to comment further.
Pitts, of Unionville, Chester County, is seeking a ninth two-year term in the House.
Strader served as a communications encryption specialist in the U.S. Army from October 2001 through October 2004 and is president and chief executive officer of ARYDAN, which provides business consulting services to defense logistics and other firms.
Strader, who served in Jordan in 2003 during Operation Iraqi Freedom, holds a bachelor's degree in business administration, operations management, from DeVry University. She holds an MBA from Keller Graduate School of Management.
Strader said she will campaign on the issues of better supporting American troops when they return home, improving funding for education and giving tax breaks to small businesses.
Manheim Township businessman Jim Bednarski, an independent, also is planning a run against Pitts.