Shuster given nod for ninth term in congressional bid
U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Everett, appears likely to have sufficient voter support to serve a ninth term as the 9th Congressional District representative.
With all of the 12 counties reporting unofficial counts, Shuster has a strong lead over his Democratic challenger, Art Halvorson of Manns Choice, with about 62 percent of of the precincts reporting.
The congressional district includes the entire counties of Fayette, Indiana, Bedford, Blair, Fulton and Franklin, and portions of Greene, Washington, Westmoreland, Cambria, Huntingdon and Somerset counties.
Shuster said late Tuesday that voters rejected the “nasty” campaign waged by Halvorson in favor of him.
“This election should have been about Republicans coming together,” he said. “My opponent tried to divide the party for his own selfish interests.
“We should have been out there working for (GOP presidential nominee Donald J.) Trump and (senatorial candidate Pat) Toomey.”
His focus when he returns to Washington will be to unite the party.
“We will not agree on everything, and I will not always get 100 percent of what I want,” he said. “But, if I get a substantial portion, that will be good.
“We have to work together.”
Halvorson applauded the efforts of his supporters.
“While we are all disappointed at the results of (Tuesday’s) election, we can take enormous pride in the tireless efforts of our supporters across the district,” he said. “They took on this noble challenge with few resources and against daunting odds.
“Their bravery and integrity reflect the very best this country has to offer.”
In Fayette County, Shuster edged Halvorson by 20,267-12,171, while in Greene County, Shuster had a 3,998-1,830 edge, according to unofficial results.
In Washington County, Shuster bested Halvorson by a 10,672 to 7,783 votes.
Halvorson overcame Shuster in Westmoreland County by a margin of 245 votes, according to unofficial results.
Shuster and Halvorson squared off in the spring with Shuster getting the GOP nod to be on the fall ballot by a 48,720-47,700.
Halvorson, however, secured Democratic write-in votes, putting him in a race with Uniontown psychologist Adam Sedlock for the party nod.
With the backing of state and federal party leaders, Sedlock mounted a write-in campaign, hoping to have his name included on the Democratic ballot.
After the April primary, both Halvorson and Sedlock petitioned the courts to have additional ballots that had their respective name misspelled, included in their vote column after both had accumulated the minimum 1,000 votes.
The Fayette County Court of Common Pleas was the final stop for the two candidates with Halvorson being the top write-in votegetter with 1,054 and Sedlock receiving 1,048 votes.
Although Halvorson secured the Democratic nod, he declined to change his registration and advised constituents, if elected, he would caucus with Republicans.
Sedlock, meanwhile, continued to receive support from the Democratic leadership and waged a second write-in campaign Tuesday in hopes of defeating both the incumbent and Halvorson.
Larry Blosser, Fayette County Election Bureau director, said the office would not begin counting write-in votes until today.
“As the final tally of write-in votes have yet to be counted, the math will speak for itself,” he said.
According to unofficial results, Shuster took Indiana, Bedford, Blair, Fulton and Franklin, Cambria, Huntingdon and Somerset counties by varying margins.