For the second straight election cycle, Congressman Bill Shuster will face a primary challenge from businessman Art Halvorson.
Shuster won the 2014 primary against Halvorson and Travis Schooley. Shuster took 53% while Halvorson won 35% and Schooley 13%.
According to Scott Wong of The Hill, Halvorson believes he can defeat the incumbent this time.
“The challenges this country, this state, and this District face are far too serious to accept the status quo,” Halvorson told Wong. “We cannot stand by and allow corrupt politicians in Washington to enrich special interests at the expense of hard-working taxpayers.”
The challenger may be motivated by the tough year Rep. Shuster has had.
Last April, Politico revealed that the Congressman is dating an airline lobbyist. Soon afterward, 2012 GOP Senate nominee and multimillionaire Tom Smith announced he was considering a run against Shuster in a primary.
As Wong reported back then, Halvorson was 100% behind Smith.
Furthermore, a month later, the Club for Growth brought up Shuster’s personal life in an ad aimed against him.
In July, however, Smith suddenly dropped out. It turns out the decision was made for personal health reasons. Halvorson is dedicating his campaign to Smith.
This challenge will test whether the incumbent, who has served since 2001 (his father held the seat before that, going back to 1973) is in any real political danger.
The 9th district is a R+14 seat meaning that whoever wins the GOP primary effectively wins the seat. The 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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10 Responses
“What has the House and Senate accomplished since the Republicans have taken over and hold the majority in each? Greta Van Susteren Bill Shuster is Boehner supporter and, in part, responsible for Republican’s failure to stop Obama’s agenda and policies.
It says something that Halvorson was behind Tom Smith 100% until Tom decided not to run because of health reasons. It means that he cares more about defeating shuster and putting conservative limited government principles into place than about becoming a congressman. I appreciate that.
Bill Shuster is the quintessential K-Street Corporate Crony, a Big Government Statist and part of the Republican Leadership that has been a willing and complicit enabler of the Obama Administration’s agendas and policies. It is astounding that the most Republican district in Pennsylvania and one of the most Republican districts in the country, repeatedly re-elects Bill Shuster. It demonstrates the power of cronyism and that principles of limited government are crushed by narrow self-interest.
Rush Limbaugh cited this article making the case against the Republican Establishment who have sold out the base. It is answer to Jonah Goldberg and others bashing Donald Trump for not being a conservative which is he is but then he is not a liberal either. The letter points out that, despite the rhetoric, the Republican Establishment allied with the Washington Cartel is the willing and complicit enablers of the Obama Administration’s policies and agenda. Exactly what makes Bill Shuster a “conservative”?
It is dead on point.
An Open Letter To Jonah Goldberg – RE: The GOP and Donald Trump
Posted on September 7, 2015 by sundance the conservativetreehouse
FTA Here’s a list of those modern conservative “small(er) government” principles:
• Did the GOP secure the border with control of the White House and Congress [from 2001 to 2006]? NO.
• Did the GOP balance the budget with control of the White House and Congress[from 2001 to 2006]? ? NO.
• Who gave us the TSA? The GOP
• Who gave us the Patriot Act? The GOP
• Who expanded Medicare to include prescription drug coverage? The GOP
• Who created the precursor of “Common Core” in “Race To the Top”? The GOP
• Who played the race card in Mississippi to re-elect Thad Cochran? The GOP
• Who paid Democrats to vote in the Mississippi primary? The GOP
• Who refused to support Ken Cuccinnelli in Virginia? The GOP
• Who supported Charlie Crist? The GOP
• Who supported Arlen Spector? The GOP
• Who supported Bob Bennett? The GOP
• Who worked against Marco Rubio? The GOP
• Who worked against Rand Paul? The GOP
• Who worked against Ted Cruz? The GOP
• Who worked against Mike Lee? The GOP
• Who worked against Jim DeMint? The GOP
• Who worked against Ronald Reagan? The GOP
• Who said “I think we are going to crush [the Tea Party] everywhere.”? The GOP (McConnell)
http://theconservativetreehouse.com/2015/09/07/an-open-letter-to-jonah-goldberg-re-the-gop-and-donald-trump /
Indiana County will decide the race – get ready
The Shuster political family is every bit as corrupt and morally bankrupt as the Kennedys. It’s really unfathomable to me how they keep getting reelected in one of the country’s most conservative Christian districts. Unless Shuster pays that dummy Travis Schooly to run again, Halvorson should be able to win this time, now that everybody knows about Bill’s lobbyist mistress.
Whoever wins the gop primary wins the general. Pa-9 is solid gop. If it’s Halverson shuster head to head, it’ll be 55 45 halvorson if he runs a decent campaign.
Can Halvorsen win?
This is the year – as long as everyone else stays out of the race and it’s halvorson vs shuster – shuster is toast.
Like father, like son – a true family values Republican.
Scandalous that A4A is so deeply embedded with this scumbag “hereditary” politician, while he is supposed to be representing citizen interests in negotiations with the same people. No big deal that he is now literally in bed with them. How many people think this “private relationship” started way before the divorce from his wife?