NEW CASTLE —
With few contested races — and a light turnout to boot — conclusions about Tuesday’s primary are hard to come by.
But we’ll try anyway. After all, what’s an election without some hindsight analysis.
The big surprise of the night, if you can call it that, was the defeat of Congressman Jason Altmire, at the hands of fellow Congressman Mark Critz. Most political handicappers gave Altmire the edge in this race, mainly because the newly created 12th District was composed mostly of Altmire’s old 4th District.
But Critz eked out a win, which seems to be attributable to a higher turnout in the portion of the district Critz currently represents. Now, Critz will be the likely favorite going into the fall campaign against Republican Keith Rothfus in this heavily Democratic district.
But regardless of who wins, effectively serving as a congressman in the 12th District is likely to prove challenging. This is a sprawling piece of real estate, gerrymandered to force two incumbent Democrats to fight for a single congressional seat. It runs from the Ohio border over to Cambria County.
And having Lawrence County’s voice heard in this district will be difficult as well. Only the extreme southern sliver of the county sits in the 12th District. These residents will have to work hard to be heard.
Meanwhile, the rest of Lawrence County awaits the general election contest between Republican Mike Kelly, who now represents the 3rd District, and Democrat Missa Eaton. This district covers northwestern Pennsylvania, but also extends to Butler and portions of Armstrong counties.
If you’re looking for other interesting results from Tuesday’s primary, one might be the Republican race for U.S. Senate, where Armstrong County resident Tom Smith emerged victorious with 39 percent of the vote in a five-way race.
Finishing third in this contest was Steven Welch, with 21 percent of the vote. This is noteworthy because Welch was the endorsed Republican, backed explicitly by Gov. Tom Corbett. We’re not sure what this means, but it suggests Corbett’s political coattails are awfully short.
Turnout across Pennsylvania was generally poor, with relatively few contested races on the ballot. In Lawrence County, for example, overall turnout was just 20.4 percent.
That compares to the 44.17 percent recorded just four years ago. That was testament to the perceived significance of a contested presidential primary. Back then, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were battling for the Democratic nomination.
This year, the presidential results were decided before voters in Pennsylvania had their say. That’s typically the case, but we don’t think voters should depend on a hot presidential contest to get them to show up at the polls. Other races are important too.
Editorials
Related Photos
Discussion
Our Opinion: Reviewing the results of Tuesday’s contests
- Editorials
-
-
Our Opinion: New Castle school tuition travesty? Enough is enough
New Castle’s taxpayers deserve an explanation. And some money. With the release of the latest Pennsylvania auditor general’s report on the city’s schools, it’s been revealed that some district employees abused taxpayers to the tune of more than $110,000.
-
Our Opinion: IRS probe may reveal multiple problems
When a murky scandal is investigated, the goal is to obtain clarity, as well as to right any wrongs. But reaching such a conclusion can be a tortuous process. And so it is with the current probe of allegations of political targeting by the Internal Revenue Service.
-
Our Opinion: Supreme Court rejects patents on human coding
We can all take comfort in knowing we still retain the rights to our own genetic material. That might seem to be obvious, but a case before the U.S. Supreme Court involved questions over whether private companies could patent human genes as their own.
-
Our Opinion: Vo-tech nursing program faces elimination in budget crunch
The past few years have been difficult financially for Pennsylvania’s education system. Tight budgets produced by an economic slowdown, weakening support from Harrisburg and an ever-increasing rise in personnel costs has created a fiscal bind for most school districts, those in Lawrence County included.
-
Our Opinion: Government’s seizing records a threat to liberty
(Second of two editorials): America’s director of national intelligence had a ready explanation this week regarding the need to seize everyone’s phone records. “Well, you have to start someplace,” James Clapper told NBC News. Let’s stop and think about that for a moment.
-
Our Opinion: News leaks reveal dramatic scope of government data collection
(First of two editorials): In case you had any doubts, Big Brother is watching. And listening. And for all we know, smelling and tasting as well.
-
Our Opinion: Pennsylvania has transportation needs, but plan has problems
Spending money on transportation projects is a popular political pastime. After all, what’s not to like about programs that create jobs and make driving smoother and safer? Yes, construction is an inconvenience, but generally, the public understands it’s necessary for the greater good.
-
Our Opinion: IRS conferences take advantage of public funds
Things aren’t getting any better for the Internal Revenue Service. In fact, the credibility of the nation’s tax collection organization seems to be eroding away as Americans look on with disgust.
-
Our Opinion: Ruling assures sweeping access to DNA
Do you trust government? Well, you better, thanks to a new U.S. Supreme Court decision that gives law enforcement — and ultimately others in government — the ability to access sweeping new information about individuals.
-
Our Opinion: Declines recorded all across Lawrence County in latest data
Lawrence County’s long trend of population decline was highlighted when the Census Bureau reported yet another drop. Last month, the bureau said that the county’s population fell from 91,108 in 2010 to 89,871 in 2012. This compares to figures from 1960, when the county’s population was recorded at 112,965.
- More Editorials Headlines
-
