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Veteran Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) defeated his GOP challenger William Russell after his toughest reelection race in his 34-year House career. NBC News projected Murtha the winner with 56 percent of the precincts in his district reporting and Murtha ahead of Russell with 58 percent of the vote. Murtha won in 2004 by 61 percent.Murtha watched his poll numbers shrink days before election after he called his constituents “racist” and “redneck” and accused Marines of killing civilians in “cold blood” in Hadditha, Iraq. Murtha, the chairman of the House defense appropriations committee, had some high-level support in the last hours of his reelection campaign. President Bill Clinton campaigned with him on Monday, and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) sent out a fundraising appeal last week. Russell’s bid was propelled after Murtha’s controversial remarks, and the Republican Party poured last minute money into the campaign, which, until several weeks ago was an uphill battle for the retired Army colonel and Iraq veteran. Russell moved from Virginia to Johnstown to challenge Murtha. Murtha held a late night press conference to proclaim his victory and spoke with cheers in the background. Murtha said he looked forward to working with Barack Obama, who was having a big night in the presidential race. |
