Curtis Mason

Chester County Republicans have endorsed financial advisor John Lawrence to replace Curtis Mason on the ballot for state House in the 13th Legislative District, a prominent local lawmaker told supporters this weekend.

In an email Friday night, obtained by PolitickerPA.com, state Rep. Curt Schroder (R-East Brandywine) announced that Mason had dropped out of the race against Democrat Tom Houghton. He described Lawrence, a senior account officer at JP Morgan, as a "conservative, young family man."

With Republican incumbent Rep. Art Hershey not seeking re-election and Chester County in a state of political flux, the race is expected to be a fiercely fought one. In his email, Schroder called Lawrence a step up from Mason, who The Inquirer reports withdrew for health reasons. Both men have challenged Hershey in the past, with Houghton running a close race against the incumbent in 2006 and Lawrence challenging Hershey in that year's Republican primary.

"He actually ran against Art in the primary last time and came with 6 points or so of winning," Schroder said in his e-mail. "I don't know where John stands on every issue. I can tell you with great certainty that he will be light years better than Curtis Mason. I spoke to John Lawrence today and he is excited and ready to campaign hard to win the seat. I truly believe he has a better chance of winning the seat than the former candidate did for reasons that I would rather not go in to."