Representative Dennis Kucinich, the very liberal Ohio Democrat, evidently won’t be heading West in an unusual effort to remain a member of Congress.

Mr. Kucinich, the former presidential candidate and antiwar lawmaker, issued a celebratory press release Tuesday declaring that Ohio’s proposed new Congressional map gives him a chance to retain his seat in the Cleveland area – where he was the celebrated “boy mayor” in the late 1970s.

“I have been praying that I could continue to serve my Cleveland-area constituency and it looks like I have a chance,” Mr. Kucinich said. “That is all I could have hoped for.”

With Ohio losing two Congressional seats due to steep population losses, Mr. Kucinich had feared that the Republican General Assembly would wipe out his district entirely. As a result, he had made multiple visits to the state of Washington, which is gaining a House seat, tinkering with the idea of running in Seattle or one of the liberal strongholds in the suburbs. He had gained a following there in his presidential bids.

But the new Congressional map proposes a district along Lake Erie that retains some of Mr. Kucinich’s current constituency, though he could end up running against a fellow Democrat, Representative Marcy Kaptur. He called it an “amazing turn of events that the legislature decided not to dismantle the district I represent.”

This probably means more bowling and less coffee for the congressman.