This is great news for progressives, and thanks to Blue America, the League of Conservation Voters and many activists and blogs, we're very likely sending a real progressive to Congress to represent Pennsylvania's 13th District: Two
April 25, 2012

[oldembed src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hM22mEi93uw" width="425" height="300" resize="1" fid="21"]

This is great news for progressives, and thanks to Blue America, the League of Conservation Voters and many activists and blogs, we're very likely sending a real progressive to Congress to represent Pennsylvania's 13th District:

Two conservative Democrats lost their seats in Pennsylvania tonight thanks to the state’s new congressional map: Rep. Jason Altmire in a highly competitive member-vs-member Democratic primary for the 12th district, while Rep. Tim Holden (D) was defeated in a primary by lawyer Matt Cartwright in Pennsylvania’s new 17th district.

Altmire represented about two thirds of the new 12th district, and early polls suggested he had the edge in the race.

Rep. Mark Critz beat Rep. Jason Altmire in a highly competitive member-vs-member Democratic primary for the 12th district, while Rep. Tim Holden (D) was defeated in a primary by lawyer Matt Cartwright in Pennsylvania’s new 17th district.

Altmire represented about two thirds of the new 12th district, and early polls suggested he had the edge in the race.
Congressman Mark Critz shows his ID to Kelly Swanson, minority inspector at precinct 17-2, as he prepares to vote in primary elections, at St. Patrick's Church Hall, in Johnstown, Pa. Tuesday, April 24, 2012. (Todd Berkey - AP)
But organized labor invested heavily in taking down Altmire, in part for his vote against the health-care law, and former President Bill Clinton endorsed Critz. (Critz is no liberal either; he also opposed health-care reform, although he wasn’t in office at the time.)

[...] A Blue Dog Democrat and another health-reform opponent, Holden represented a central Pennsylvania swing district for the past ten years. But Republican-controlled redistricting gave him a safe Democratic district where he was little known to the vast majority of voters.

That created an opening for Cartwright, a Scranton lawyer who stars in a popular legal segment on the evening news.
The Campaign for Primary Accountability, a new super PAC aimed at taking down incumbents in both parties, spent over $200,000 on the race. But the League of Conservation Voters actually spent more to defeat Holden, who often supported Republican energy policy.

Holden raised $911,813 for the race; Cartwright raised $707,043, including $390,000 from his own pocket.

Last night, Blue America released this statement:

Blue America Treasurer Howie Klein said, "Blue America congratulates Matt Cartwright on his hard fought win and we pledge to continue that fight across the country wherever progressive candidates are working hard to free our political system from the entrenched interests on behalf of ordinary Americans. Our next stop is Wisconsin's 1st congressional district where progressive businessman Rob Zerban is battling to defeat Republican poster boy Paul Ryan in a swing district. The establishment doesn't think that's possible, either. We think Rob can prove them all wrong once again."

Can you help us out?

For nearly 20 years we have been exposing Washington lies and untangling media deceit, but now Facebook is drowning us in an ocean of right wing lies. Please give a one-time or recurring donation, or buy a year's subscription for an ad-free experience. Thank you.

Discussion

We welcome relevant, respectful comments. Any comments that are sexist or in any other way deemed hateful by our staff will be deleted and constitute grounds for a ban from posting on the site. Please refer to our Terms of Service for information on our posting policy.
Mastodon