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Swing time in Pennsylvania's 8th Congressional District?
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Race
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Contributor | Mr. Politics |
Last Edited | Mr. Politics Sep 23, 2010 10:39am |
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Category | Commentary |
Author | George Will. |
Media | Newspaper - Washington Post |
News Date | Thursday, September 23, 2010 04:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
Description | Fitzpatrick, who had been a Bucks County commissioner for 10 years, won in 2004, a good Republican year. He lost in the Republicans' annus horribilis of 2006, when they suffered the first of two consecutive wave elections. (In a wave, a party gains or loses a net of at least 20 seats in the House of Representatives.) The Democrats' 2006 candidate for governor was Ed Rendell, the former Philadelphia mayor who was much loved in the suburbs for making the central city -- he was called the "mayor from Pine to Vine," two downtown streets -- safe to visit for meals and entertainment. Rendell defeated his Republican opponent in the 8th District by 40 points. So, 2006 was a Republican nightmare: Incumbent Sen. Rick Santorum lost the district by 20 percent.
Still, Fitzpatrick lost by just 1,518 votes out of 249,817 cast, and he carried the Bucks County portion of the district. He did not attempt a comeback in 2008 because he was receiving chemotherapy and radiation for colon cancer. He is now well.
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