Nov 7, 2012 3 min read

U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy fended off his best-known Democratic challenger Tuesday, but, as all but one Murphy opponent has done, Washington County Commissioner Larry Maggi finished the night with a total in the 30 percent range to Murphy’s 63 percent.

In then-state Sen. Murphy’s first run for Congress in 2002, he defeated Westmoreland County resident Jack Machek by 20 percentage points. Maggi, then Washington County sheriff, had hoped for a head-to-head contest that year, but he lost to Machek in the Democratic primary, a race in which another Washington County resident, Bob Domske, finished third.

In 2006, when fallout over the war in Iraq swept a Republican majority from Congress, Murphy’s Democratic opponent, Chad Kluko, finished with 42 percent of the vote. It was the only time Murphy’s percentage fell below 60 percent.

Maggi, a Democrat, conceded defeat Tuesday night in his race against Murphy with unofficial districtwide totals for the 18th showing 199,602 votes for Murphy to 113,648 for Maggi.

In Washington County, Murphy garnered 41,196 votes to Maggi’s 29,886. In Greene County, the incumbent had 4,298 votes to his challenger’s 2,764.

“Although we didn’t get the results we wanted, I’m incredibly proud of the campaign I ran,” he said at his campaign gathering at Jay’s Sports Bar at the Iceoplex in Southpointe. “We stuck to the issues, we offered a contract and we educated voters on what Congress is doing on the issues that matter most to Southwestern Pennsylvania.”

Murphy, in a phone interview, attributed his victory to “the number of people who worked hard for me. We really know the district and connect with people. We worked with them over the years and built relationships.”

He cited “kitchen-table issues” such as working to keep the 911th Airlift Wing and retaining Medicare for senior citizens.

Although Greene County was new territory for Murphy, he said, “We were in Greene a great deal, dozens of times, and we knocked on a lot of doors there. I wanted people to know we take pride in our office, we connect with thousands of people. I never want people to have the feeling that they don’t know their congressman.”

Reapportionment altered the boundaries in the 18th Congressional District, including half of Greene County for the first time, but despite the redrawing, the district consistently chooses Republicans in the presidential race.

In the 2004 presidential election year, 18th District voters chose incumbent President George W. Bush 54 percent to 46 percent over Democratic challenger John Kerry, a trend that continued in 2008 when Republican John McCain secured 55 percent of the vote over 44 percent for Barack Obama. This year, Romney carried both Washington and Greene counties.

Because of the reapportionment, the 9th Congressional District included Mon Valley parts of Washington and Greene counties for the first time, a contest between incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster of Hollidaysburg, Blair County, and Karen Ramsburg of Mercersburg, Franklin County, who billed herself as an independent who won a Democratic write-in nomination in the primary.

Totals districtwide were 105,163 for Shuster and 68,331 for Ramsburg. In Greene County, Shuster received 2,827 votes, while Ramsburg had 3,326 with 43 of 44 precincts reporting.

In Washington County, Ramsburg was also ahead with 9,854 to Shuster’s 7,375.

The 9th District also includes parts of Indiana, Cambria, Blair, Huntington, Franklin, Fulton, Bedford, Somerset and Fayette counties.

Registration in the district is 62 percent Republican and 38 percent Democratic.

In the 2010 general election, Shuster bested his opponent, Tom Conners, 73.1 percent to 26.9 percent.