SEE ALSO: Republicans pick Burns

By Alex Roarty
PoliticsPA Staff Writer
roarty@politicspa.com

Bill Russell lost Thursday’s vote by GOP conferees to determine who would have an opportunity to succeed the late John Murtha in Congress.

He told reporters afterward that the vote wasn‘t a fair fight.

“The fix was in,” he said, minutes after Tim Burns won the Republican nomination in the 12th Congressional District.

The former Army officer said state party leaders, who has publicly feuded with since 2008, and state committee members pressured many of the 132 conferees to support the businessman Burns. Russell has said state GOP Chairman Rob Gleason has disliked him for years because of his aggressive campaign against Murtha, with whom Gleason was friends.

Gleason, told of Russell’s remarks, said he was sorry Russell felt that way.

“I feel it was an open process,” said the chairman.

Thursday’s vote was taken by 132 conferee members from the 12th District nine counties. The county chairmen of each of them selected who would be the conferees.