Cook Report Changes PA-12 Rating to Solid R

Keith Rothfus portrait lores
Keith Rothfus

Former Congressman Mark Critz’s decision to run for Lieutenant Governor gave current Congressman Keith Rothfus’ re-election prospects a boost says one national observer.

The Cook Political Report this week upgraded its rating of PA-12 from “Likely Republican” to “Solid Republican”. The non-partisan elections handicapper didn’t issue an explanation for the change, but Critz’s decision has been the only major change in the race.

Rothfus defeated Critz in last year’s election. Critz had been elected and re-elected in 2010 to fill the vacancy created by the death of Democrat John Murtha.

Erin McClelland of Westmoreland County is currently the only Democrat seeking to challenge Rothfus in 2014.

10 Responses

  1. Staffers are whispering that the Rothfus offices are getting hammered with negative phone calls regarding the shutdown. I don’t know what he’s thinking with the Tea Party alignment.

  2. Congressman Keith Rothfus Leaves His Wall Street and Elite Republican Friends to Vacation With His Employers In The District After Accomplishing Nothing! Isn’t It Time To Fire Mr. Rothfus, Asks GOP Challenger Larry Stiles?

    Mr. Keith Rothfus proudly says voters in the PA 12th District are his employers, but are we really? Congressional Challenger and Veterans Advocate Larry Stiles comments on Rothfus’s vacation with us: “Mr. Rothfus has accomplished virtually nothing for us and our nation. Mr. Rothfus seems committed to taking Congress’s approval rating to 0. Rothfus’s first months in office have been filled with cheerleading and pandering to Wall Street and Republican Washington elites. Voters in the PA 12th need to send Mr. Rothfus on a permanent vacation and get the representation that they deserve! I am ready to step into the leadership vacuum that Mr. Rothfus has created.

  3. DR-

    Rothfus is a horrible rep. His tea party brand
    won’t last long. He’s no friend of seniors, college students, women and the like. If I were a republican… I’d select that other guy running against him in the primary for sure, but I’m not, so I’ll definitely be voting to throw him and Tom Corbett out next year.

  4. With all the companies dropping spousal health coverage and the cost of health insurance soaring, Obamacare will continue to be a major issue in 2014. I see no better candidate than Rothfus. He ran on repeal and has been working toward that end. As we have also seen debt continues to be a HUGE problem. He ran on this issue and has been voting accordingly. Very concerned about constituents as he should be and he & his staff work accordingly. As long as Rothfus keeps to principles & promises made during campaign, he will be re-elected.

  5. I live in Westmoreland too. Did anyone get the slanted questionnaire mailer that Keith Rothfus wasted taxpayer dollars sending out?

    For example, he asks where should cuts be… Then asks to check social security, Medicare,
    Farm subsidies; etc. At NO POINT does he mention big oil subsidies or other means of corporate welfare. Pathetic!

  6. I agree that Altmire would have likely held on to the seat. Still the heavy Republican lean will be hard to overcome in a district that gave Obama a mere 41% of the vote. Rothfus could be vulnerable to a primary challenge since tea party darling Evan Feinberg was handily defeated by the more moderate Tim Murphy.

  7. Keith Rothfus is a tea party conservative so out of the mainstream that he makes Melissa Hart look like a moderate. Keith has nothing of real value to offer, no intellectual heft to speak of and will be voted out once a good Dem candidate is recruited. Had Jason Altmire not been primaried we wouldn’t be lamenting this fool in Congress . Thanks for nothing Mark Critz you selfish power hungry bum

  8. Rothfus’ margin was underwhelming considering Romeny carried the district by 17 points. Rothfus also voted against aid to areas plagued by Hurricane Sandy- clearly he’s way to the right of district. That being said, he’s still practically safe as any Democrat would need a significant number of Romney voters for the win. The other evidence that Rothfus is in good shape is that the race did not attract a proven vote getter from Beaver or Cambria counties. Only in a Democrat wave year with an exceptional candidate will this seat flip and even that becomes increasingly unlikely as SW PA continues to take a hard right turn.

  9. Rothfus is a one-trick pony – repeal the ACA….. He has no ideas. No back-up plan. A tool of the right wing, Tea Party loony bin. He’s beatable. Very beatable.

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