Rep. Jason Altmire (D-Pa.) will rally with Rep. Mark Critz (D-Pa.) on
Monday morning, a major sign of Democratic party unity in southwest
Pennsylvania after Critz bested Altmire in a primary two weeks ago.
Securing
Altmire's backing after the hard-fought and sometimes nasty primary is a
big deal for Critz — Altmire represents much more of the new district
than Critz, and any underlying hostility between the two could hurt
Critz as he seeks to hold the Republican-leaning district in the fall.
Altmire
quickly endorsed Critz after it became clear he'd lost the primary in a
new Republican-drawn district that stretches from suburban Pittsburgh
to Critz's base in Johnstown, nearly two hours from the city.
"Congratulations
to my colleague Congressman Mark Critz on his hard-fought and
well-deserved victory in the primary," Altmire said in an election-night
statement. "He has my full support as his campaign moves on to the
fall."
Critz told The Hill shortly before the election that he wasn't sure he'd endorse Altmire if Critz lost the primary.
The rally will also be attended by Rep. Mike Doyle (D), the longtime congressman from Pittsburgh.
Reps. Jason Altmire (D-Pa.) and Mark Critz (D-Pa.) fought to win over Democratic diehards while maintaining their centrist credentials in a Monday night debate, showing the tough position the two are in: running in a hotly-contested Democratic primary in a GOP-leaning district.
Critz slammed Altmire for voting to repeal Democrats' health insurance reform law, and while he's said he would also have voted against it, nevertheless came close to praising its reforms during the debate.
"The system we had was not working. Is the healthcare bill the answer? Does it solve all the issues? Well, no. It needs a lot of work," he said before adding he had "voted every time to support the bill in its current form and worked to improve it."
He also attacked Altmire for voting for the GOP-backed Balanced Budget Amendment.
Altmire hit Critz for voting to defund Planned Parenthood, although he touted his anti-abortion-rights beliefs in arguing to defend the organization. "I am pro-life, but I have voted at every opportunity to provide funding for Planned Parenthood,” he said. "My position is funding for Planned Parenthood helps prevent abortions."
During redistricting, Republicans threw the two men together into one slightly Republican district outside of Pittsburgh that is heavy with blue-collar voters. Both have sought in the primary to highlight votes in line with the district's Democratic base, although their own centrist voting records have constrained them.
Critz has the backing of most of the district's unions, an important ally in the area, while Altmire has a major geographic edge, as many more of his current constituents live in the new district.
They will face off in an April 24 primary, with the winner likely to face Republican attorney Keith Rothfus, whom Altmire narrowly defeated in 2010.
Rep. Tim Holden (D-Pa.) is out with a new ad slamming his primary opponent for donating to corrupt judges.
"Lawyer Matt Cartwright and his firm contributed thousands of dollars to the campaigns of Luzerne County judges who were convicted in the 'Kids for Cash' scandal — judges who took millions in bribes to send juvenile offenders to private jails,” says the ad's narrator.
Holden, a longtime centrist congressman who voted against Democrats' health insurance reform law, is locked in a tough primary against Cartwright, who has run to his left. Cartwright has already been on the air attacking him.
The two will face off in the state's April 24 primary.
The Campaign for Primary Accountability, a super-PAC solely dedicated to defeating longtime incumbents of both parties, will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars against Reps. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.) and Tim Holden (D-Pa.).
Both are facing tough primary challenges from candidates running as ideological purists: Murphy is facing Tea Party candidate Evan Feinberg while Holden, a centrist Blue Dog Democrat, is facing Matt Cartwright (D), who is running as the more liberal candidate in a revamped district that has been made considerably more liberal.
The group plans to spend approximately $200,000 on each race, about what they've spent on past races against Reps. Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio) and Don Manzullo (R-Illinois), who lost, and Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), who won. The group also spent more than $300,000 combined trying to take out Alabama Republican Reps. Spencer Bachus and Jo Bonner, both of whom won their primaries.
While the Manzullo and Kaptur primaries were races against other incumbents, a group spokesman said it would not get involved in the member-on-member race between Reps. Jason Altmire (D-Pa.) and Mark Critz (D-Pa.), or any other primaries in Pennsylvania.
"Our general criteria which have some bearing on this are the length of incumbency," said group spokesman Curtis Ellis. "The voting record only figures in as far as our polling... The key determinant in all of our races is if people are happy with their representative we don't engage, I don't care if they've been there for 50 years."
The Pennsylvania AFL-CIO endorsed Rep. Mark Critz (D-Pa.) over Rep.
Jason Altmire (D-Pa.) Monday, making them the latest union to throw
their support to Critz and showing how deeply unhappy organized labor is
with Altmire.
The endorsement comes after the AFL-CIO's three
local branches endorsed Critz. He also has locked up support from the
AFSCME, the Teamsters, United Mine Workers, United Steelworkers and the
Service Employees International Union.
"We're proud to endorse
Congressman Critz in the 12th Congressional
District," said Pennsylvania AFL-CIO President Richard Bloomingdale.
"He's the best candidate to represent the over 100,000 union
members in [the district] who are looking for someone to fight for jobs
and an
economy that works for everyone."
Altmire infuriated unions in 2010 when he voted against Democrats'
health insurance overhaul law after reportedly telling them he'd back
it. Critz wasn't in office at the time and said he would have opposed
the law, but hasn't taken heat from unions because he's been consistent
on the issue.
Critz's campaign also released a poll Monday showing him trailing
Altmire by seven points 45 percent to 38 percent. That's closer than the
10-point lead Altmire had in Critz's last internal poll, released one
month ago. Altmire's campaign recently touted an internal poll that had
him with a
24-point lead.
Altmire started off with the advantage in the member-on-member
primary, which was created when Republicans eliminated Critz's district
and threw the two together in one slightly Republican-leaning district.
Altmire has represented about two thirds of the new district, while
Critz has only represented about a quarter of it.
But unions remain very powerful in western Pennsylvania, especially
in Democratic politics. If Critz can catch up to Altmire, the unions
could make a big difference in turnout in the race — and the AFL-CIO
promised that with their endorsement will come a get-out-the-vote
campaign on Critz's behalf.
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