Brooks

HARRISBURG — Two state representatives have announced that they will compete to represent the 50th District, which includes the Grove City area, in the state Senate.

Reps. Michele Brooks, R-17th, and Greg Lucas, R-5th, have said that they will run in the May 20 Republican primary for the seat of retiring Republican Sen. Bob Robbins.

The 50th District has included the Butler County townships of Lancaster and Worth, but the district lines will change for this year's election. Those municipalities, along with Harmony, Portersville and Zelienople, and Jackson and Muddy Creek townships, now are in the 47th District served by Sen. Elder Vogel.

The new 50th District will cover all of Mercer and Crawford counties and parts of Erie and Warren counties.

Brooks of Jamestown, Mercer County, was elected to the House in 2006. Before that, she was a Mercer County commissioner and was a member of the Jamestown council from 1996 to 2002.

During her time in the House, she opposed the proposal to toll Interstate 80, supported lowering taxes and promoted increasing switchgrass production as a form of alternative energy.

The 17th District covers parts of Crawford, Mercer and Lawrence counties.Lucas of Edinboro, Erie County, was elected to the House in 2012. Before that, he began serving on the Edinboro council in 2004, and became mayor there in 2011.He said on his website that he has worked to promote private sector job creation and to strengthen public education. He also is a supporter of the Second Amendment.Lucas previously indicated that he would seek the Senate seat if Robbins retired.The 5th District currently covers parts of Crawford and Erie counties.Neither candidate returned a call for comment.Robbins, 69, of Salem Township, Mercer County, announced Monday that he will not seek re-election. He was elected to the Senate in 1990.

Lucas