2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania

2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania

←  2004 November 7, 2006 (2006-11-07) 2008  →
All 19 Pennsylvania seats to the United States House of Representatives
Majority party Minority party   Party Democratic Republican Last election 7 12 Seats won 11 8 Seat change 4 4 Popular vote 2,229,091 1,732,163 Percentage 55.57% 43.18% Swing 6.86% 6.7%
Congressional District Results County results Democratic   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%   80–90%   >90% Republican   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%

The 2006 United States House elections in Pennsylvania was an election for Pennsylvania's delegation to the United States House of Representatives, which occurred as part of the general election of the House of Representatives on November 7, 2006. ^[1]

General election

Overview

United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania, 2006
Party		Votes	Percentage	Seats Before	Seats After	+/–
	Democratic	2,229,091	55.57%	7	11	+4
	Republican	1,732,163	43.18%	12	8	-4
	Green	33,287	0.83%	0	0	0
	Constitution	8,706	0.22%	0	0	0
	Independent	7,958	0.20%	0	0	0
Totals		4,011,205	100.00%	19	19	—

1st Congressional district

General Election 2006: Pennsylvania's 1st congressional district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Robert A. Brady	137,987	100.0

2nd Congressional District

General Election 2006: Pennsylvania's 2nd congressional district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Chaka Fattah	165,867	88.6
	Republican	Michael Gessner	17,291	9.2
	Green	David G. Baker	4,125	2.2

3rd Congressional district

2006 Pennsylvania's 3rd congressional district election

←  2004 2008  →

Nominee Phil English Steven Porter Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 108,525 85,110 Percentage 53.6% 42.1%

County results English:     50-60%     60-70% Porter:     40-50%

U.S. Representative before election Phil English Republican Elected U.S. Representative Phil English Republican

Incumbent Representative Phil English was re-elected with 53.6% of the vote.

General Election 2006: Pennsylvania's 3rd congressional district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Phil English	108,525	53.6
	Democratic	Steven Porter	85,110	42.1
	Constitution	Timothy J. Hagberg	8,706	4.3

4th Congressional district

2006 Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district election

←  2004 2008  →

Nominee Jason Altmire Melissa Hart Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 131,847 122,049 Percentage 51.9% 48.1%

County results Altmire:     50-60%     60-70%     70-80% Hart:     50-60%     60-70%

U.S. Representative before election Melissa Hart Republican Elected U.S. Representative Jason Altmire Democratic

Incumbent U.S. Representative Melissa Hart was defeated by healthcare lobbyist Jason Altmire, taking 48.1% of the vote to Altmire's 51.9%.

General Election 2006: Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jason Altmire	131,847	51.9
	Republican	Melissa Hart	122,049	48.1

5th Congressional district

2006 Pennsylvania's 5th congressional district election

←  2004 2008  →

Nominee John E. Peterson Donald L. Hilliard Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 115,126 76,456 Percentage 60.1% 39.9%

County results Peterson:     50-60%     60-70%     70-80%

U.S. Representative before election John E. Peterson Republican Elected U.S. Representative John E. Peterson Republican

Incumbent Representative John E. Peterson was re-elected with 60.1% of the vote.

General Election 2006: Pennsylvania's 5th congressional district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John E. Peterson	115,126	60.1
	Democratic	Donald L. Hilliard	76,456	39.9

6th Congressional district

In the Pennsylvania 6th congressional district election, incumbent Republican Jim Gerlach defeated Democratic opponent Lois Murphy by a 50.7%–49.3% margin to secure a third term. This was a rematch of the 2004 election, when Gerlach defeated Murphy by a similarly close margin. ^[2] In the primary election, Gerlach was unopposed and Lois Murphy defeated developer Mike Leibowitz. ^[3]

The race was one of the most competitive in the nation, with CQPolitics.com rating the race as highly competitive with "No Clear Favorite." The Cook Political Report rated the race "Republican Toss Up" ^[4] and Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball rated this as one of the top fifty most competitive House races in the nation, and was the first one he predicted a turnover in. ^[5] The candidates participated in two debates in October. The first, sponsored by the AARP focused on Social Security, healthcare, Iraq, and taxes. ^{[6] [7] [8]} The second debate, airing on WPVI, focused on Iraq. ^[9] Murphy outspent Gerlach by a margin of $4,097,663 to $3,492,402. ^[10]

General Election 2006: Pennsylvania's 6th congressional district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jim Gerlach	121,047	50.7
	Democratic	Lois Murphy	117,892	49.3

7th Congressional district

In the Pennsylvania 7th congressional district election, long-time incumbent Republican Curt Weldon was defeated by retired Navy 3-star admiral Joe Sestak.

Prior to the primary election, Iraq war veteran Bryan Lentz agreed to drop his bid for the seat held by Weldon, instead running for a Pennsylvania state legislature seat, a move brokered by Governor Ed Rendell. Lentz had raised about $125,000 for his congressional campaign. Haverford Democrat Paul Scoles, who ran poorly funded race against Weldon in 2004, also backed out in early February, throwing his support behind Sestak. ^[11]

Pennsylvania's 7th congressional district , covering the suburbs west of Philadelphia, was one of the districts where John Kerry outpolled Bush in the 2004 election, which nonetheless elected a Republican to the House. As such, it became the target of Democratic strategists; in 2006 the Democrats fielded a much stronger and vastly better-funded challenger. ^[12] On October 13, the media reported that Weldon and his daughter were being investigated by the FBI ^{[13] [14]} for their involvement with two Russian energy companies and a Serbian company connected with Slobodan Milosevic. The investigation focuses on the lobbying firm Solutions North America owned and run by daughter Karen Weldon and local Republican operative Charlie Sexton, which was hired for $1 million, and whether Weldon was involved in obtaining the contracts or was lobbied by his daughter's firm. Three days later, FBI agents raided the home of Weldon's daughter, Karen, as well as five other locations of Weldon associates in Pennsylvania and Florida as part of the investigation. ^{[15] [16]} On October 17, 2006, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Weldon "acknowledged yesterday that he was under investigation." ^[17]

On October 13, 2006, CQPolitics changed their rating on the race, from "Leans Republican" to the highly competitive "No Clear Favorite." ^[18] This was the second time CQPolitics changed its rating in the match-up; in July, it reclassified the race from "Republican Favored" to the more competitive "Leans Republican." They subsequently noted, however, that this change was made the day before the media reported that the FBI was investigating Weldon and his daughter. Shortly after the raid, CQPolitics.com changed their rating on this race for a third time, this time from "No Clear Favorite" to "Leans Democratic". ^[19] On October 6, 2006, the non-partisan Cook Political Report re-rated the race from "Lean Republican" to the more competitive "Toss Up." ^[4] Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball, in late June, rated as one of the top thirty most competitive House races in the nation. Sabato has said that "Weldon has deep roots in this district, but his persistence on the issue of finding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq has struck more than several observers as unusual." ^[20]

Endorsements

Joe Sestak (D)

Individuals

• Wesley Clark, General, 2004 democratic presidential candidate ^[21]

General Election 2006: Pennsylvania's 7th congressional district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joe Sestak	147,898	56.4
	Republican	Curt Weldon (incumbent)	114,426	43.6

Endorsements

Patrick J. Murphy (D)

Individuals

• Wesley Clark, General, 2004 democratic presidential candidate ^[22]

General Election 2006: Pennsylvania's 8th congressional district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Patrick J. Murphy	125,656	50.3
	Republican	Michael G. Fitzpatrick	124,138	49.7

9th Congressional district

2006 Pennsylvania's 9th congressional district election

←  2004 2008  →

Nominee Bill Shuster Tony Barr Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 121,069 79,610 Percentage 60.3% 39.7%

County results Shuster:     50-60%     60-70% Barr:     50-60%

U.S. Representative before election Bill Shuster Republican Elected U.S. Representative Bill Shuster Republican

Incumbent Representative Bill Shuster was re-elected with 60.3% of the vote.

General Election 2006: Pennsylvania's 9th congressional district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bill Shuster	121,069	60.3
	Democratic	Tony Barr	79,610	39.7

10th Congressional district

2006 Pennsylvania's 10th congressional district election

←  2004 2008  →

Nominee Chris Carney Don Sherwood Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 110,115 97,862 Percentage 52.9% 47.1%

County results Carney:     50-60%     60-70% Sherwood:     50-60%     60-70%

U.S. Representative before election Don Sherwood Republican Elected U.S. Representative Chris Carney Democratic

The 2006 Pennsylvania 10th congressional district election was held on November :7 to elect a representative from the Pennsylvania's 10th congressional district . Republican four-term incumbent Don Sherwood was defeated by Democrat Chris Carney, a former Defense Department consultant and Navy lieutenant commander.

CQPolitics noted that "[a]t the outset of the 2006 midterm campaign cycle, it would have been difficult to identify a more politically 'safe' member than Pennsylvania Rep. Don Sherwood. A four-term Republican from the strongly conservative 10th District in northeastern Pennsylvania, Sherwood had run unchallenged by Democrats in 2002 and 2004." ^[23] But, he "enters the general election campaign in a weakened position mostly because of his extramarital relationship with a young woman, to which he publicly admitted last year. Sherwood, though, adamantly denied the woman's charges that he also physically abused her. A lawsuit brought by the woman against Sherwood was later settled." ^[24]

On May 15, 2006, Sherwood survived a "surprisingly strong challenge" in the Republican primary from Kathy Scott, a political newcomer. ^[25] Sherwood received 56% of the vote. CQPolitics reported that his "mediocre showing" could be attributed to the admitted affair. ^[26] Scott did not file a report with the FEC, which indicates that she spent less than $5,000 in her campaign. ^[27] His small margin of victory came despite the fact that, prior to the primary, Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum endorsed Sherwood and recorded an automated telephone call on Sherwood's behalf, ^[27] as did President George W. Bush. ^[28]

Sherwood's continuing problems resulting from the extramarital affair and Carney's nationally famous ads about it (in which actual residents of the district accuse Sherwood of having "no family values"), as well as polls that showed him 7 to 9 points behind, compelled Sherwood to respond with a television ad in which he directly apologized to voters for the affair, denied the allegations of physical abuse, and promised to continue what he said was his effective representation of the district if the voters were to forgive and re-elect him. However, the initial 2005 news about Sherwood admitting to an affair and being accused of choking the woman as well as the well-recognized Carney ads, which were described by the Associated Press as "hard-hitting", stuck with Sherwood's name throughout the campaign. Fallout for Sherwood continued, including charges that he voted against an increase in the minimum wage while hiking his own congressional income, a claim which the Congressman denounced as "bullshit", and for voting for the Central American Free Trade Agreement, which Carney said "sent Pennsylvanian jobs overseas." Sherwood fought back by labeling Carney a "liar" for the minimum wage charges and subsequently accused Carney of being a "liberal" for supposedly supporting tax increases. Carney shot back, accusing Sherwood of supporting tax cuts for the wealthy, while depriving the middle-class. Carol Sherwood, the Congressman's wife, wrote a letter to registered Republicans in the 10th District in which she lambasted Carney as someone who "gets some pleasure out of hurting our family" and stated that "I am certainly not condoning the mistake Don made, but I am not going to dwell on either." Simultaneously, President Bush made a visit to the area in October to Keystone College in La Plume Township, Pennsylvania to endorse Sherwood's run, a move which many believe might have hurt Sherwood when given Bush's declining popularity both nationwide and in the district. Bush supported Sherwood as "the right man to represent this district", to which the President drew uncertain applause from the audience, which included several empty tables. Coincidentally, Bush had deemed the week that he flew to Pennsylvania to help Sherwood as "National Character Counts Week", which propelled Carney to blast Bush as a hypocrite, stating he could not comprehend how President Bush could both endorse moral values and campaign for the affair-laden Sherwood in the same week. Simultaneously, Sherwood's campaign took a boost from a local newspaper, Times Leader, which ran a front-page headline in late October in which it accused Carney of "misrepresenting" quotes that were included in a Times Leader editorial page about Sherwood's extramarital affair. Meanwhile, Carney took pages from the Republican playbook by using the same tactics the GOP uses against Democrats to attack Sherwood, accusing the Congressman of having a "pre-9/11 mentality" on port security and of supporting amnesty for illegal immigrants, referring to President Bush's guest worker program for illegal immigration. Despite endorsements from Vice President Cheney, President Bush, and U.S. Senator Rick Santorum, Sherwood's campaign was surprisingly beaten in the financial spending wars by the Carney campaign. In the closing days of the campaign, last-minute news about new developments in a 2005 $500,000 deal with Sherwood's former mistress and accuser helped boost Carney, who had consistently played the trump card of "honor", "integrity", and "family values" in his campaign. Many voters also resonated with Carney's vague yet inspiring vow "to make Pennsylvania proud", a slogan that became very familiar to the 10th District, as well as his impressive record as a senior terrorism advisor in the Pentagon and his Navy service. ^[23]

General Election 2006: Pennsylvania's 10th congressional district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Chris Carney	110,115	52.9
	Republican	Don Sherwood	97,862	47.1

11th Congressional district

2006 Pennsylvania's 11th congressional district election

←  2004 2008  →

Nominee Paul Kanjorski Joseph F. Leonardi Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 134,340 51,033 Percentage 72.5% 27.5%

County results Kanjorski:     60-70%     70-80%     80-90%

U.S. Representative before election Paul Kanjorski Democratic Elected U.S. Representative Paul Kanjorski Democratic

Incumbent U.S. Representative Paul Kanjorski was re-elected with 72.5% of the vote.

General Election 2006: Pennsylvania's 11th congressional district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Paul E. Kanjorski	134,340	72.5
	Republican	Joseph F. Leonardi	51,033	27.5

12th Congressional district

2006 Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district election

←  2004 2008  →

Nominee John P. Murtha Diana Irey Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 123,472 79,612 Percentage 60.8% 39.2%

County Results Murtha:     50-60%     60-70%

U.S. Representative before election John P. Murtha Democratic Elected U.S. Representative John P. Murtha Democratic

Incumbent U.S. Representative John P. Murtha was re-elected with 60.8% of the vote.

General Election 2006: Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John P. Murtha	123,472	60.8
	Republican	Diana Irey	79,612	39.2

13th Congressional district

General Election 2006: Pennsylvania's 13th congressional district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Allyson Schwartz	147,368	66.1
	Republican	Raj Peter Bhakta	75,492	33.8

14th Congressional district

General Election 2006: Pennsylvania's 14th congressional district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mike Doyle	161,075	90.1
	Green	Titus North	17,720	9.9

15th Congressional district

General Election 2006: Pennsylvania's 15th congressional district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Charles W. Dent	106,153	53.6
	Democratic	Charles Dertinger	86,186	43.5
	Green	Greta Browne	5,802	2.9

16th Congressional district

General Election 2006: Pennsylvania's 16th congressional district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joseph R. Pitts	115,741	56.6
	Democratic	Lois K. Herr	80,915	39.5
	Independent	John A. Murphy	7,958	3.9

17th Congressional district

2006 Pennsylvania's 17th congressional district election

←  2004 2008  →

Nominee Tim Holden Matthew W. Wertz Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 137,253 75,455 Percentage 64.5% 33.5%

County Results Holden:     50-60%     60-70%     70-80% Wertz:     50-60%

U.S. Representative before election Tim Holden Democratic Elected U.S. Representative Tim Holden Democratic

Incumbent Representative Tim Holden was re-elected with 64.5% of the vote.

General Election 2006: Pennsylvania's 17th congressional district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tim Holden	137,253	64.5
	Republican	Matthew W. Wertz	75,455	33.5

18th Congressional district

General Election 2006: Pennsylvania's 18th congressional district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tim Murphy	144,632	58.7
	Democratic	Chad Kluko	105,419	42.2

19th Congressional district

2006 Pennsylvania's 19th congressional district election

←  2004 2008  →

Nominee Todd Platts Philip J. Avillo, Jr. Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 142,512 74,625 Percentage 64.0% 33.5%

County Results Platts:     60-70%

U.S. Representative before election Todd Platts Republican Elected U.S. Representative Todd Platts Republican

Incumbent Representative Todd Platts was re-elected with 64.0% of the vote.

General Election 2006: Pennsylvania's 19th congressional district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Todd Platts	142,512	64.0
	Democratic	Philip J. Avillo, Jr.	74,625	33.5
	Green	Derf W. Maitlnd	5,640	2.5

See also

• United States congressional delegations from Pennsylvania
• 108th United States Congress

References

1. "Representative in Congress – 2006 General Election". Commonwealth of PA – Elections Information. Pennsylvania Department of State. 2004. Archived from the original on November 27, 2008. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
2. "Commonwealth of PA - Elections Information". Archived from the original on May 22, 2008. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
3. "Commonwealth of PA - Elections Information". Archived from the original on November 27, 2008. Retrieved May 29, 2009.
4. "Home". The Cook Political Report. Archived from the original on June 12, 2009. Retrieved May 29, 2009.
5. Sabato, Larry (2006). "Pennsylvania (06)". Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball. Archived from the original on May 31, 2009. Retrieved May 29, 2009.
6. Philadelphia Inquirer, Civilly, Gerlach and Murphy go over differences by Nancy Petersen, October 22, 2006
7. Fanelli, Brian (October 22, 2006). "Gerlach and Murphy debate a range of issues". Daily Local News . Archived from the original on October 23, 2006. Retrieved December 16, 2019.
8. Associated Press, Gerlach, Murphy spar over war, taxes, health care in Pa. debate ^{[ permanent dead link ]}
9. R. Jonathan Tuleya, Murphy, Gerlach clash over Iraq ^{[ permanent dead link ]}, October 28, 2006; accessed October 29, 2006
10. "Pennsylvania District 06 2006 Race". OpenSecrets. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018.
11. William Bender, "Dems revamp lineup card: It's Sestak vs. Weldon; Lentz vs. Gannon" Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine , Delaware County Times, February 10, 2006
12. Giroux, Greg (October 13, 2006). "Navy Vet Sestak Coming Closer to Sinking Weldon in Pa. 7". CQPolitics.com.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
13. "South FL Things To Do, Restaurants & Nightlife - miami.com". Miami.com.
14. http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/15760138.htm ^{[ dead link ]}
15. Shiffman, John; Lipka, Mitch; Kerkstra, Patrick (October 16, 2006). "Agents raid homes of Rep. Curt Weldon's daughter, close friend". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on November 13, 2006. Retrieved May 29, 2009.
16. Maryclaire Dale, "FBI raids home of Weldon's daughter, friend in influence probe" Archived 2006-10-27 at the Wayback Machine , Associated Press, October 16, 2006.
17. Shiffman, John; Mason, Todd (October 17, 2006). "Weldon inquiry boils as FBI seizes material". The Philadelphia Inquirer . Archived from the original on November 7, 2006. Retrieved December 16, 2019.
18. "Politics Home Page : Roll Call". cqpolitics.com. Archived from the original on October 27, 2006. Retrieved October 14, 2006.
19. Giroux, Greg (October 17, 2006). "Weldon, Under Investigation, Is Now the Underdog in Pa. 7". CQPolitics.com. Archived from the original on October 18, 2007. Retrieved May 29, 2009.
20. "Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball » 2006 House". centerforpolitics.org. Archived from the original on May 31, 2009. Retrieved May 29, 2009.
21. "Joe Sestak (PA-7) | WesPAC". Archived from the original on September 5, 2008.
22. "Patrick Murphy (PA-08) | WesPAC". Archived from the original on November 4, 2006.
23. Giroux, Greg (October 9, 2006). "Carney's Bid Turns Sherwood from Unopposed to Apologetic". CQPolitics.com. Archived from the original on October 18, 2007. Retrieved May 29, 2009.
24. Giroux, Greg (May 17, 2006). "PA 10: Lingering Scandal Puts Sherwood on At-Risk List". CQPolitics.com. Archived from the original on October 18, 2007. Retrieved May 29, 2009.
25. Hefling, Kimberly (May 17, 2006). "Four-term congressman survives close race". York Dispatch. Associated Press. Archived from the original on February 9, 2013. Retrieved May 17, 2006.
26. Giroux, Greg (May 17, 2006). "PA House: Murphys Easily Win Primaries; Sherwood Hangs On". CQPolitics.com. Archived from the original on October 18, 2007. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
27. Kaplan, Jonathan E. (May 3, 2006). "Santorum calls to shore up Sherwood". The Hill. Archived from the original on May 14, 2006. Retrieved May 3, 2006.
28. Krawszeniuk, Borys (May 13, 2006). "Bush offers a pitch for ally Sherwood – uses recorded calls from president". Scranton Times-Tribune. Archived from the original on July 19, 2011. Retrieved May 29, 2009.