Kucinich mulling move to Washington state?

CLEVELAND, May 4 (UPI) -- U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, a very liberal Democrat, may be considering a move to Washington state if he loses his Ohio district when new lines are drawn.

Kucinich, 64, has represented the Cleveland area in Congress since 1997.

Two decades earlier he had a tumultuous two-year term as the city's youngest mayor.

The congressman has made no definitive statement on his plans, the (Cleveland) Plain Dealer reported. He has not confirmed the rumors floating around the city but has also failed to deny them.

Ohio now has a Republican governor and Republican majorities in the state Legislature, so the district lines drawn after the 2010 Census are unlikely to favor Democrats. Because Washington state has a very late primary, he could run in both states if he ends up in a head-to-head collision with another Democratic incumbent, the Plain Dealer said.

A move to a new state has happened before at least once. Ed Foreman, a Republican, represented a Texas district for two years and was defeated in the Democratic landslide in 1964. He was elected to Congress in 1968 in his native New Mexico and ousted two years later.

Foreman, now almost 80 years old, is a motivational speaker in Dallas.