United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania, 2008
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The 2008 congressional elections in Pennsylvania will be held on November 4, 2008 to determine who will represent the state of Pennsylvania in the United States House of Representatives. Pennsylvania has 18 seats in the House, apportioned according to the 2000 United States Census. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; those elected will serve in the 111th Congress from January 4, 2009 until January 3, 2011. The election coincides with the 2008 U.S. presidential election.
[edit] District breakdown
[edit] District 1
Pennsylvania's 1st congressional district- Five term incumbent Bob Brady (D) will run for another term after losing his bid to be mayor of Philadelphia. He will be challenged by businessman Mike Muhammad (R).
[edit] District 2
Pennsylvania's 2nd congressional district- Law professor Mike Livingston (R) will challenge seven term incumbent Chaka Fattah (D), who was unsuccessful in his bid to be mayor of Philadelphia. Osborne Hart, a political organizer, is running on the Socialist Workers Party ticket.
[edit] District 3
Pennsylvania's 3rd congressional district— Seven term Republican Phil English could have a test in 2008, as he represents a politically balanced Erie-based district that gave George W. Bush 53% of the vote. Also, in 2006, English received just 54% of the vote against an under-funded candidate with no political experience. The DCCC has recruited Erie County Councilman Kyle Foust to run against English. Attorney Tom Meyers, Erie Arboretum director Kathy Dahlkemper, and religious nonprofit program coordinator Mike Waltner also declared for the Democratic primary. Steven Porter, the 2006 Democratic nominee, is running again, this time as an independent. [1] Dahlkemper proved to better mobilize support than Foust, the original frontrunner. She won the Democratic nomination with 45% of the vote and will face English in the general election.
[edit] District 4
Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district— Democrat Jason Altmire defeated Republican incumbent Melissa Hart in a 52% to 48% upset. Hart had won 63% of the vote in 2004, when George W. Bush carried this suburban Pittsburgh district with 53%. In 2006, Pennsylvania was perhaps the most disastrous state for incumbent GOP House members, who lost four seats here. Melissa Hart ran unopposed for the Republican nomination. Hart will attempt to use her public service credentials and experience to regain her seat and should provide a challenge for Altmire. However, the incumbent is currently favored because of his moderate voting record during his first term.
[edit] District 5
Pennsylvania's 5th congressional district— Republican John Peterson announced his intention to retire on January 3, 2007, paving the way for a contentious open seat election. Clearfield County commissioner Mark McCracken, Lock Haven mayor Richard Vilello, and Bill Cahir, a reporter and Marine Corps veteran of the Iraq War battled for the Democratic nomination. [2]. Nine Republicans were in the race for the seat. Four men emerged as top tier candidate: hotel developer Matt Shaner, financial consultant Derek Walker, Centre County GOP chair Glenn "G.T." Thompson, and former Woodland Township supervisor Jeff Strohmann. Also on the Republican ballot were mortgage broker John Kupa, Clarion mayor John Stroup, Elk County coroner Lou Radkowski, former Centre County commissioner Chris Exarchos, and minister Keith Richardson. [3] Penn State student Donald Wilson secured ballot access on the Green Party ticket.
Walker won a hard-fought 4-way primary with just 19% of the vote. He and Shaner were superior fundraisers, and they used this to pull ahead of Thompson, despite his superior name recognition. The Republican primary included many personal attacks, with Shaner targeting Walker's inexperience and Walker referring to a DUI incident involving Shaner. McCracken won 49% in a hard-fought Democratic race that received much less attention.
[edit] District 6
Pennsylvania's 6th congressional district— Three term Republican Jim Gerlach has become used to winning close elections, as survived threats from wealthy attorney Lois Murphy in 2004 and 2006 with 51% each year and could face another for his suburban Philadelphia district in 2008, which went to John Kerry with 51% in 2004. Bob Roggio, a businessman from Charlestown, ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination for this seat. [4] Although Gerlach is expected to be involved in another tough general election, Roggio does not have the name recognition or funding that Murphy had, which could make his struggler more difficult.
[edit] District 7
Pennsylvania's 7th congressional district- Democratic Congressman Joe Sestak defeated ethically challenged incumbent Curt Weldon by 56% to 44% Because of his moderate image and strong military credentials, in 2008 he is is expected to have a huge advantage over the Republican opponent, Iraq War veteran and attorney Craig Williams, despite the Republican leanings of the district.
[edit] District 8
Pennsylvania's 8th congressional district— This Bucks County district voted for John Kerry with 51% in 2004 and was narrowly won by Iraq War Veteran Patrick Murphy in 2006, when Murphy unseated one-term Republican Mike Fitzpatrick by 1,521 votes. State Representatives Bernie O'Neill and Scott Petri expressed interest in running for this seat as Republicans, but dropped out because Murphy is expected to be difficult to beat. Tom Manion, a Republican from Doylestown Township, a member of the Marine reserves and a pharmaceutical executive, instead ran unopposed for the Republican nomination.[5] He has been endorsed by former Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick, who many thought would seek to reclaim his seat.[6] Murphy could face a tough election since he is still a fresh face in Congress, but Manion may not be as strong of a candidate as the Republicans would like.
[edit] District 9
Pennsylvania's 9th congressional district— Three term Bill Shuster (R) will seek re-election for another term.[7] His Democratic opponent is the 2006 candidate, educator Tony Barr.
[edit] District 10
Pennsylvania's 10th congressional district— Chris Carney (D) may face a difficult reelection bid in this heavily Republican district he won after widely-publicized allegations of incumbent Republican Don Sherwood’s extramarital affair with and alleged abuse of Cynthia Ore, who later settled for an undisclosed amount. Carney defeated Sherwood 53% to 47%. However, Bush won here 60% to 40% for John Kerry. Two Republicans fought for the nomination, staffing company executive Chris Hackett and manufacturing executive Dan Meuser, who has credibility as a disabled rights activist. Hackett won a tough primary with 54% of the vote, which has drained many of his resources for the general election. Carney is the favorite but the vote may be close.
[edit] District 11
Pennsylvania's 11th congressional district— Twelve term incumbent Paul Kanjorski (D) is running for reelection. Generally, Kanjorksi has won reelection easily, considering the Democratic leanings of the district. However, he may face one of the toughest elections of his career against his sole opponent Lou Barletta (R), a figure who made national controversy for the anti-immigration policies he promoted as mayor of Hazleton. Barletta has gained national name recognition for his stance, which may help or hurt him with different voting groups in the election. Kanjorksi has come under scrutiny for comments he made about Barletta that were deemed inappropriate. Kanjorski should have the advantage, but Barletta, who ran for this seat in 2002, may make a race of it.
[edit] District 12
Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district— Sixteen term incumbent John Murtha (D) will seek reelection. No Republican will be on the ballot, although military reservist William Russell is staging a write-in campaign. Disk jockey Terry Ronzio is on the ballot for the Unity Party and is campaigning in favor the Iraq War.
[edit] District 13
Pennsylvania's 13th congressional district— While two term Democrat Allyson Schwartz is a target for Republicans in the 2008 race, her seat is expected to be relatively safe. She did not face a serious challenge in 2006 against Raj Bhakta in this Democratic-leaning district. 2007 Philadelphia mayoral candidate Al Taubenberger and state Senator Stewart Greenleaf pondered running on the Republican ticket, but did not enter the race. Attorney Marina Kats ran unopposed for the Republican nomination. Underfunded and without name recognition, the nomination of Kats could very well take this seat out of contention.
[edit] District 14
Pennsylvania's 14th congressional district— Seven term incumbent Mike Doyle (D) will run for another term. He will not face a Republican opponent, although perennial Green Party candidate, professor Titus North, will be on the ballot.
[edit] District 15
Pennsylvania's 15th congressional district— Although two term Republican Charlie Dent was targeted by the Democrats for a tough race in 2008, it appears that his seat is relatively safe. He won only 53% of the vote against a political newcomer with no political experience in a district that narrowly went to John Kerry with 50% in 2004. His district covers the Lehigh Valley region and is politically marginal. Lehigh County Executive Don Cunningham, and state Democratic Party Chairman T.J. Rooney declined to run for the Democratic nomination, leaving Allentown Democratic Party Chair Sam Bennett as the sole member of her party's ticket. Bennett is not considered to be as strong of a candidate as Democrats would like, meaning this seat could fall out of contention.
[edit] District 16
Pennsylvania's 16th congressional district— Five term incumbent Joe Pitts (R) is running for reelection. Unchallenged for the Democratic nomination was construction contractor Bruce Slater. Management consultant John Murphy will also be on the ballot as a Green Party candidate.
[edit] District 17
Pennsylvania's 17th congressional district— Eight term incumbent Tom Holden (D) is running for another term. The only opponent in the race is Toni Gilhooley (R), a retired police officer.
[edit] District 18
Pennsylvania's 18th congressional district— Three term Republican Tim Murphy was reelected in 2006 with 58% of the vote against a little-known Democrat in this suburban Pittsburgh district that George W. Bush won with 54% of the vote. Murphy's campaigning skills have yet to be tested, with relatively easy wins in his three elections thus far, and he could be vulnerable against a strong opponent. The DNC tried to Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato to run, although he showed no interest in the race. Business consultant Beth Hafer, whose mother Barbara Hafer is a longtime state official, was expected to be the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination. Also running as a Democrat was Monroeville businessman Steve O'Donnell and insurance executive Brien Wall. O'Donnell won an upset victory with 45% of the vote in a somewhat under the radar election. He will need to gain more recognition in order to challenge Murphy, although he should make the race competitive.
[edit] District 19
Pennsylvania's 19th congressional district— Four term incumbent Todd Platts (R) will run for another term. His Democratic opponent will be 2006 candidate and college professor Phil Avillo.
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ The Herald, Sharon, Pa. - Crowded field eyes 3rd Congressional District seat
- ^ http://www.pennlive.com/news/expresstimes/pa/index.ssf?/base/news-15/120037352699150.xml&coll=2
- ^ http://www.pennlive.com/news/expresstimes/pa/index.ssf?/base/news-15/120037352699150.xml&coll=2
- ^ DailyLocal.com
- ^ BREAKING: Manion plans to run for Congress (phillyBurbs.com) | Courier Times
- ^ BREAKING: Manion plans to run for Congress (phillyBurbs.com) | Courier Times
- ^ The Herald-Mail
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