Oct 30, 2012 2 min read

A Democrat from Elizabeth will take a stab in Tuesday’s primary at defeating an opponent who unseated him from the office he long held in the state House, representing the 39th District.David Levdansky, a retired lawmaker who defeated a Democratic challenger in the spring, will appear on the ballot for a second time against Republican Rick Saccone, who won the seat in 2010.Both men claimed in the weeks leading up to the vote they are confident they will win the office.”I didn’t take the rejection personally,” said Levdansky, who was unseated by 151 votes in favor of Saccone in Saccone’s first campaign for state office.Meanwhile, Saccone said he is getting great feedback from voters after having “knocked on nearly 12,000 doors.””The response has been absolutely positive,” said Saccone, of Elizabeth Township.He said property tax reform, especially eliminating real estate taxes paid to school districts, remains high on his list of priorities.Levdansky said he is running for the office to “protect taxpayers and the public interest.””The big-money special interest agenda has taken control over Harrisburg,” he said.Saccone said state lawmakers have passed two consecutive budgets without tax increases and approved expansion of the Castle Doctrine, which permits the use of deadly force in the event of certain attacks.”People love that,” Saccone said.Levdansky, though, criticizes Saccone for closing district offices and not being visible to his constituents.”I think they’re having buyer’s remorse,” Levdansky said.Saccone said he’s attended 176 community events in the past year. “I don’t think there is a legislator as visible as me,” he said.He said he unseated an entrenched incumbent who helped to create the state’s then-$4 billion deficit.”Since then I have been working very hard to put Pennsylvania back on the right track,” he said.However, Levdansky said he has a record of standing up to special interests. He wants to place economic development high on his agenda.”That has to be the principal focus,” he said, adding that he wants to close corporate loopholes and require companies to hire locally.