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Retired soldier unable to unseat Murtha

PHILADELPHIA — Rep. John Murtha, who scrambled to jump-start his campaign after saying his constituents were racist, held off a surprisingly stiff challenge Tuesday.

With 77 percent of precincts reporting, Murtha had 52 percent of the vote, while Republican William Russell had 48 percent.

In his hometown of Johnstown, supporters chanted “Welcome back Jack.” Murtha said his emphasis on creating jobs is what mattered most to voters.

“You keep sending me back regardless of what I say,” Murtha said.

Two other Pennsylvania congressman, Democratic Rep. Paul Kanjorski and Republican Rep. Phil English, were having a tougher go of it. Kanjorski was locked in a tight race and English was trailing.

Murtha hadn’t anticipated a tough race against Russell, a retired Army lieutenant colonel who moved to the district to take him on, but he ran into trouble after he described western Pennsylvania as racist, apologized for the remark, then told another interviewer the area had been “really redneck” in years past.

In the last days of the campaign, Murtha admitted being “blindsided” and said he waited too long to ramp up his campaign. President Bill Clinton was even brought in to help him on Monday.

Murtha, 76, is a decorated Vietnam veteran who chairs the House defense appropriations subcommittee. His national profile was raised when he became one of the Democratic Party’s most outspoken critics of the Iraq war.

He is also well-known — and often criticized — for the many millions of dollars of federal money he has brought home for pet projects.

In northeastern Pennsylvania, Kanjorski, a 12-term congressman was in a close race with Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta, a Republican mayor who became nationally prominent for his stand against illegal immigrants.

With 76 percent of precincts reporting, Kanjorski had 115,149 votes, or 51 percent, and Barletta had 109,285, or 49 percent.

Kanjorski has come under fire for federal earmarks he has directed to the region, including nearly $10 million to a technology firm controlled by his family members which later went bankrupt and $3 million to a now-vacant office building named after him.

Barletta pushed through a law in his community of 30,000 that sought to deny business permits to companies that employ illegal immigrants and fine landlords who rent to them. A federal judge struck down the ordinance as unconstitutional but his efforts were emulated in other towns around the country.

In the state’s northwest corner, seven-term Republican Rep. Phil English was trailing Democratic political newcomer Kathy Dahlkemper, a business owner who opposes abortion rights, in what was expected to be a very tight race.

With 89 percent of precincts reporting, Dahlkemper had 125,568 votes, or 52 percent, and English had 117,934, or 48 percent.

A social conservative who is a centrist on economic issues, English emphasized his work on behalf of the steel industry, while Dahlkemper said as a business owner she could better sell the region.

English had a long career working in politics before taking office, having helped run former Sen. Rick Santorum’s first campaign.

Democrats saw Dahlkemper as an especially strong candidate in the swing district, which backed President Bush in the last two presidential elections but has seen rising Democratic voter registration.

English was elected in 1994, the year of the “Republican Revolution.” He filled the seat vacated by Tom Ridge, who ran for governor.

The state’s only open seat was in a rural district in central and northern Pennsylvania vacated by GOP Rep. John Peterson’s retirement. Peterson’s chosen successor, Centre County GOP chairman Glenn Thompson, beat Democrat Mark McCracken, a Clearfield County Commissioner.