Shuster won’t seek re-election to Congress; Halvorson to run for his seat
All residents of Washington and Greene counties will have new representatives in Congress at this time next year.
The 18th Congressional District has been without a Congressman since Upper St. Clair Republican Tim Murphy’s resignation took effect Oct. 20.
U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster, 56, (R-Everett) announced Tuesday via news release he won’t be running for a 10th, two-year term in the sprawling 9th Congressional District. Art Halvorson, a Republican who nearly defeated Shuster in the GOP primary of 2016, wasted little time in announcing his candidacy.
Washington and Greene counties lie on the fringes of the 12-county 9th district that stretches 150 miles eastward to Altoona and Chambersburg. Most of the Washington and Greene communities in the Mon Valley are included in the 9th Congressional District.
In a statement released in mid-afternoon, Shuster said, “With much deliberation, consultation with my family, and prayer over the last several weeks, I have decided not to seek election for a 10th term.
“It was a difficult decision because of my love of this nation and the people I serve. Rather than focusing on a re-election campaign, I thought it wiser to spend my last year as chairman (of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee) focusing 100 percent on working with President Trump and my Republican and Democratic colleagues in both chambers to pass a much needed infrastructure bill to rebuild America.
“So it is with a happy heart and a sense of accomplishment that I say this will be my final year in the U.S. Congress.”
Shuster’s previous opponent, Halvorson, 62, expressed his commitment ” to the conservative-reform revolution that swept President Donald Trump into the White House” and continued, “the need is urgent to support Trump’s efforts to clean up Washington, D.C., and break the cartel of lobbyists and career politicians that still controls Congress.”
The April 2016 primary gave Shuster 50.63 percent of the GOP vote, squeaking by Halvorson’s 49.37 percent. The challenger also ran a write-in campaign on the Democratic ticket where no candidate had filed, garnering that nomination. Shuster trounced Halvorson in the general election during which Trump captured Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes.
Halvorson, a decorated U.S. Coast Guard veteran who lives in Mann’s Choice, Bedford County, had intended to announce his third run for Congress Thursday.
“We were that close,” he said in an interview Tuesday evening. “We knew there was a chance (Shuster) would do this.”
Halvorson had no inside knowledge of Shuster’s Tuesday announcement, but when the news arrived, he sped up his announcement timetable.
“We don’t know who else might be interested, but we have already done the heavy lifting,” Halvorson said. “I’m a commercial developer. My business is building, and I can do this across the district. We believe people have been held down and ignored. We are going to change that, aspiring to change the dreams of the great people of Southwestern Pennsylvania.”
Halvorson said, if elected, he will serve no longer than six years and he’ll refuse the Congressional pension. Major-party Congressional candidates can circulate nominating petitions next month and file by the March 6 deadline for the mid-May primary.
Washington County Commission Vice Chairman Diana Irey Vaughan, and the minority member of the board, found both Bill Shuster, and his father who preceded him in Congress, Bud Shuster, to be helpful.
“It’s disappointing news for Washington County,” Irey Vaughan said Tuesday afternoon. “We’ve lost two members of Congress. I hope the person who will step up for the district will do half the job that Bill Shuster has done. It’s always disappointing to see seniority leave on the federal level. (Congressman Shuster has) been very responsive to constituents and I wish him all the best.
“We saw Congressman Shuster in Washington County regularly and his office was always open to our needs.”
In the aftermath of Murphy’s resignation in October, many wondered if there could be an opportunity that the next representative from the 18th Congressional District could be from Washington or Westmoreland counties, which had two hopefuls, State Rep. Jason Ortitay (R-Bridgeville) and State Sen. Kim Ward (R-Hempfield) step forward.
The two finalists, however, were State Sen. Guy Reschenthaler (R-Jefferson Hills) and State Rep. Rick Saccone (R-Elizabeth Township), with Saccone capturing the nomination at a special convention Nov. 11.
He will square off against Democrat Conor Lamb, a former federal prosecutor from Mt. Lebanon, in a special election scheduled for March 13 to serve for the remainder of this year.
Of the Shuster revelation, David Ball, spokesman for the Republican Party of Washington County, said Tuesday, “We’re surprised. It’s a late announcement. Certainly he’s been a very admirable Congressman and served well. Being chairman of the Transportation committee is a large and powerful job.” Shuster is nearing the end of his committee chairmanship term limit. Of Shuster’s pledge to work to improve infrastructure, Ball said, “I think that’s a great use of his time. We wish him well. Where he’s headed will become apparent in the near future.”
The loss of two longtime congressmen from Southwestern Pennsylvania may not be felt quite so deeply in Greene County, which was split in half during the 2012 redistricting process.
Larry Stratton, professor of political science at Waynesburg University, noted both Murphy’s and Shuster’s districts were stretched into Greene County six years ago, places that had been represented by the late John Murtha, a Johnstown Democrat, during the previous decade. Stratton thinks the vacancies will give Greene County voters more of a voice in this year’s mid-term elections.
“Now, there will be an opportunity for political leaders to rise from within for both of these seats,” Stratton said.
“Whoever is running in both races will have to seek and value the votes. The change in the political landscape will make Greene County a vote-rich environment so the citizens will be truly represented.”
Stratton said Shuster’s hulking district made him a stranger to Greene County.
“They were longtime Congressmen, but they were new to Greene County,” Stratton said. “Murphy’s presence was felt, while Shuster always sent a representative to the parades and events.”
Regional editor Mike Jones contributed to this story.