(CNN) – CNN projects that Democrat Mark Critz has topped Republican Tim Burns in a special election to fill the late Pennsylvania Rep. John Murtha's U.S. House seat.
(CNN) – Democrat Mark Critz had an early lead in Tuesday's special election to fill the House seat of the late Pennsylvania Democratic Rep. John Murtha.
With 21 percent of precincts reporting, Critz had 58 percent of the vote. Republican businessman and first-time politician Tim Burns had 39.9 percent.
Murtha died in February, prompting the special election.
Critz worked for Murtha and had said he'd continue Murtha's legacy if elected.
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/02/17/art.murtha.file.gi.jpg caption="The contest for John Murtha's seat remains up in the air."](CNN) - Keep your eyes on southwestern Pennsylvania. While it's being overshadowed by higher-profile Senate primaries, a special election Tuesday for a House seat that represents that part of the state has drawn national attention and could have national implications.
And while the winners in the Senate primaries move onto the general election in November, the victor in this contest goes directly to Congress.
Republican Tim Burns is battling Democrat Mark Critz to fill the seat of the late Rep. John Murtha.
The race has stepped up in intensity over the past month, with both campaigns as well as national party committees going up with television ads.
(CNN) - Two hard-hitting new ads are heating up the Pennsylvania battle for the late Rep. Jack Murtha's congressional seat.
Republican Tim Burns is facing off against Democrat Mark Critz in a the May 18 special election. The race has stepped up in intensity in recent weeks, with both campaigns as well as national party committees going up with television ads.
The Burns campaign came out Tuesday with a new television commercial that questions the ethics of Critz, a longtime aide to Murtha, a Democrat who represented the district for 18 terms until he passed away earlier this year.
"Mark Critz. A Washington bureaucrat bankrolled by Pelosi. Critz was investigated by the congressional ethics office and Critz was in charge of the finances for a company caught on paying their taxes," says the narrator in the ad.
"The Ethics Committee found that Mr. Murtha did nothing wrong. Tim Burns knows this," Critz told CNN, responding to Burns' ad. "I worked for Parkins, a local small business, because I wanted to try to help my brother-in-law's company turn around its operations so that it could bring jobs to our community. I left because I disagreed with decisions that were being made over the company's future. These misleading personal attacks are Tim Burns' attempt to distract from his own record on job loss and outsourcing."
(CNN) - Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin announced her support Monday for Pennsylvania Republican Tim Burns.
"I'm proud to offer my support to Tim Burns in his campaign to bring real job creation to Pennsylvania's 12th district," Palin said in a post on her Facebook page. The former GOP vice presidential hopeful also pointed to Burns' involvement in the Tea Party movement as a reason for her endorsement.
Burns will face Democrat Mark Critz in a May 18 special election for the House seat held for decades by the late Democratic Rep. John Murtha.
Washington (CNN) - FreedomWorks announced Wednesday that it's backing Tim Burns, the Republican candidate running in the May 18 special election for the House seat of the late Rep. John Murtha.
FreedomWorks' political action committee and the organization's chairman, former top House Republican Dick Armey, officially endorsed Burns. The group also announced they'll fund Burn's get out the vote efforts, which they say will include "door-to-door literature drops, phone banks, and yard sign distribution."
"Tim Burns may be new to the political scene, but it is real-world experience that qualifies him to serve the people of Pennsylvania's 12th District," says Armey in a release. "Tim learned the values of hard work and fiscal responsibility in starting a successful company from the ground up."
FreedomWorks is a nonprofit conservative organization that helps train volunteer activists and has provided much of the organizational heft behind the Tea Party movement.
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