The internal struggle in PA-9 continues.
Four members of the Franklin County Republican Committee announced they would rather resign than support Congressman Bill Shuster this November.
“We are members of the FCRC and respect their mission as well as their bylaws but we cannot in good conscience endorse Bill Shuster over Art Halvorson in this congressional race,” they write. “So the four of us are resigning our committee positions and publicly declaring our full support for Art Halvorson in his race for the United States House of Representatives. We will also continue to support other Republican candidates on the ballot.”
The four signees of this letter were: Chambersburg Mayor Darren Brown, Tuscarora School Board Member Erich Hawbaker, former Secretary of the Franklin County Young Republicans Mike Brown and FCRC member (as well as Halvorson’s Communications Director) Greg Scandlen.
Last April, Rep. Shuster narrowly defeated Art Halvorson in a hard-fought contest for the Republican nomination. Halvorson, however, won the Democratic primary through the write-in vote and decided to challenge Shuster in November.
“I would expect people on Art Halvorson’s staff to have the common courtesy to endorse him,” Shuster spokesman Casey Contres responded. “If the others have trouble supporting the choice of the Republican primary voters of the 9th District who is proud to be on Donald Trump’s team and instead want to support someone running on Hillary Clinton’s team, we are glad they are leaving the Franklin County Republican Committee.”
The 9th Congressional District consists of all or parts of Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Fayette, Franklin, Fulton, Greene, Huntingdon, Indiana, Somerset, Washington and Westmoreland Counties.
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19 Responses
These 4 guys have lost every contested election they’ve run in. I suppose they find themselves drawn to Arts campaign for that reason, because so has he. Now he’s running as a Dem because the Republicans have repeatedly rejected him.
Scandlen is actually a Halvorson staffer. This is total amateur hour. A typical Joe Sterns production. These 4 guys are the real victims here. Whatever career they thought they were going to have, just ended.
Wow, so much misinformation, so little time. Yes, Pennsylvania roads are terrible — the worst in the country. Ironic considering Shuster, like his father before him, chairs the Transportation Committee. If his seniority is supposed to benefit this District, he has made a hash of it.
HALVORSON is doing it for “personal power and gain?” Are you joking? Bill Shuster has no other reason for existing. He is a fat cat who lines his pockets with lobbyist money
HALVORSON is “openly arrogant”? I have never met a more arrogant man than Bill Shuster.
What exactly is wrong with the Mayor writing his own press release? I guess Shuster would have had a lobbyist do it.
This will be interesting.
A RINO (Shuster) vs. a DINO (Halvorson).
Who’s the real Republican? The one with the label or the one with the substance?
Who’s the one with the proven track record of putting public service over private gain?
Who’s the one advocating smaller government and less Federal intrusion on our lives?
Who has consistently advocated for fiscal responsibility?
The list could go on and on.
I’m proud to cast my vote for the true blue Republican, Art Halvorson, who even the Democrats think is worthy of representing their interests.
Funny how so many of these “real Republicans” say it’s perfectly OK for Shuster to go behind his wife’s back with a lobbyist but were full of righteous indignation when guys like Bill Clinton and John Edwards got busted for philandering.
Politicians, like diapers, need to be changed regularly for the same reason.
This race won’t be close. Art does not support Trump and in the 9th District most Republicans will vote straight party. Art and his supporters will fade away just like the tea party. What have they accomplished? Not much because they can not work with others.
I can’t say I agree with you jmarshak. This is a presidential year so turnout will be high. This is also a 2-1 Republican district. The straight party voters will absolutely benefit Shuster. And the Dems that are absolutely offended that a tea party activist is running at the top of their ticket will likely either under vote or vote Shuster out of spite.
Bottom line, this was a really dumb move on Halvoson’s part. From what I’ve seen so far from him, I’m not really surprised. This won’t even be close. Especially when Shuster starts actually spending money.
Shuster has good reason to be nervous. If all the Republicans who voted for Halvorosn in the primary vote for him again, and they’re joined by all the Democrats who vote straight ticket and/or just want rid of Shuster, Halvorson could end up winning. Any incumbent who can barely win his own party’s primary against an unknown with no money has to realize his days are numbered.
First, nobody cares who these 4 zeros endorse. Second, if your a republican and you lose the primary, you’ve lost the election. Halvorson reeks of desperation here. The only thing that reeks worse is these four self promoting clowns trying to get their name in the newspaper before they’re forgotten forever.
4 Ron Paul fanatics who happen to be Franklin County committee people resign out and this is news? I heard the mayor actually wrote his own press release to announce this. Does someone need attention?
Principled County Committee folks are rare, in either party. I know nothing of this race, nor do I have a preference who wins here. But bravo to these four for being honest.
You supposed “conservative” Republicans with your piggy snouts in the public trough make me laugh. You support a dolt, a womanizer, a drunkard on occasion, because he might bring highway money here, yet you clamor, “Reduce federal spending!” What whitened sepulchers! What hypocrites! You are responsible for Trump and Hillary being the nominees, because you have assisted incumbents in perverting our system of government. For shame!
Good riddance to these RINOs! Obviously not true Republicans anyway. I don’t really get why this is a story though, it’s 4 people in a 100 person plus committee in one County in the district… let’s not act like this is a big deal or they matter because it isn’t and they don’t.
Issac- Pennsylvania’s roads are some of the worst in America because both Bud and Bill Shuster spent their time as Transport chair chasing tail instead of taking care of our infrastructure. Bill’s total neglect of his own district and state is one more reason we should throw him out.
Write-in the REAL Democrat Adam Sedlock.
How anyone can vote for someone so openly arrogant as Art Halvorson is beyond me. What I have yet to see from Art or his campaign is what he plans on doing to fix everything that he claims is wrong and bad. Thats the problem with this guy, always first to point out the problem, last to offer a solution. I doubt Art Halvorson makes minimal vote difference than Bill Shuster does, if any difference. If you havent seen Bill then you aren’t looking for him. I recently heard him speak at a picnic over the past weekend and was very impressed with his dedication to help the people of the 9th District.
Vote for Art Halvorson, and NONE of your interests as constituents will be addressed. He is clearly doing this stunt for his on personal power and gain.
Shuster’s been supping at the public trough for too, too long. And, although he purportedly represents Greene County, we’ve never seen him. He’s a good exemplar for term limits, and our former state rep Dollar Bill DeWeese was another…still an arrogant jerk when he got out of the clink. So…hoping to turf out Shuster, also. Never asked to be gerrymandered into his district.
This is just a publicity stunt for a struggling campaign. These four clowns can put on their tin foil hats and head to the nearest under ground bunker. Art is what we need a congressman who will have no seniority and who wants to get rid of the Dept. of Transportation. When Art loses this election he can work to get on the Green Party Ticket for 2018 because the Democrats won’t have him again. When you see Art in the ninth district ask him what his thoughts are on Trump? This guy is an opportunist, just like Ted Cruz.
I know I hate having a congressman as Chairman of the Transportation Committee in a state with as many road miles as Pennsylvania. We might be the keystone state junction for the vast majority of commercial and private traffic coming from and going to New England and the rest of the northeast, but what we need is a far-right fiscal conservative zealot to be a freshman congressman representing our interests. If we’re lucky, he’ll join the Freedom Caucus and help make government grind to a halt, just like our highways.
Worse than NO CHOICE. Two bad choices.