Published: October 04, 2008 10:04 pm            

Beating the odds: Three area seats up for grabs

This election season requires that the tough get tougher – especially Republicans running in the mostly Democratic landscape of Cambria County and a Democrat running in Somerset County’s GOP territory.

Add to that the headline-grabbing U.S. presidential race, and it’s easy for local candidates to feel overlooked and discouraged.

“The presidential race is sucking the energy out of the local races,” said Chris Voccio, a Republican running for the state legislature in the 72nd District.

His opponent, Democrat Frank Burns, says that means candidates have to work harder.

“Of course the presidential race is going to draw more attention,” Burns said. “However, I’m out in the district every day, meeting voters on their doorsteps – something they can’t do on the presidential level.”

Of more pragmatic concern to state legislative candidates than national politics is their party registration in hostile territories.

For decades it has been an uphill climb for Democrats in Somerset County and Republicans in Cambria.

“It can be discouraging, because too many people think that the only way they can win is to change their party or their politics,” said retired Cambria County Commissioner Kathy Holtzman, a Republican who won elections in solidly Democratic circles.

“It doesn’t always give people a chance to make a real choice,” Holtzman said.

But it doesn’t stop minority-party candidates in either county from pursuing the offices.

71st District

In the state House 71st District, which covers Johnstown and surrounding municipalities, Democrats hold a commanding majority.

Cambria County’s latest voter-registration statistics show that the district is home to 21,109 Democrats and 11,835 Republicans.

Furthermore, the district has been served by six-term Democratic state Rep. Ed Wojnaroski, who is retiring. And the longtime legislator has endorsed the Democratic candidate for the seat, Bryan Barbin.

Despite those obstacles, though, Republican contender Jim Rigby says he should not be counted out. The Ferndale resident said he has knocked on about 6,000 doors during his campaign.

“That face-to-face contact – it’s a grassroots thing,” Rigby said.

While acknowledging that many voters ask about his party affiliation, Rigby said they also generally are receptive to what he has to say concerning his positions on issues.

“They listen to me,” Rigby said. “I think I catch a lot of people off guard by the simple fact that I’ve come to their door.”

Barbin, a Johnstown lawyer, said he also is talking to voters one on one. And he said a candidate’s beliefs mean more than his party affiliation.

“You need to represent the values of the people,” Barbin said, adding that voters give the nod to politicians who can accomplish their goals.

“It’s not about the (party) registration,” Barbin said. “People vote for (U.S. Rep. John) Murtha because Murtha does things for this area.”

72nd District

Longtime Democratic state Rep. Tom Yewcic, who is retiring from his seat in the 72nd District, said that party affiliation remains a key factor.

“You’d like to think a person would win on his character,” Yewcic said. “If you have an open election, without an incumbent, there are several base issues that people look at. And if both candidates have the same positions, they’ll vote the party line.”

Democrat Burns said he takes nothing for granted, despite the district’s registration disparity of 23,896 Democrats to 13,446 Republicans.

“Winning an election takes careful planning and preparation, regardless of the candidate’s political party,” Burns said. “In politics, there are no sure things. That is why my campaign is working hard every day, executing our plan.

“It’s been quite a while since there has been an open seat for state representative and the district has changed over the years,” Burns said, “so we’ll have to wait and see.”

His Republican opponent, Voccio, said that he remains optimistic despite the numbers.

“Clearly if you just look at the registration numbers, it’s easy to get discouraged,” he said. “But when you dig deeper, you see that maybe it’s not easy, but it’s possible.

“There are conservative Democrats – and by no stretch of the imagination are they liberals. They have a history of swing voting, like in the last Presidential race. All I need is a sliver of the open-minded.”

69th District

In GOP-dominated Somerset County, Democratic candidates often face an uphill struggle.

It took former state Rep. William Lloyd, D-Somerset, three tries before he could overcome the Republican stronghold in the 69th District, covering the southern two thirds of Somerset County.

Lloyd was defeated by Republican Ken Halverson in 1976 and again two years later in an election so close the winner ultimately had to be decided by the state Supreme Court.

Finally, Lloyd ascended to office in 1980 and became the longest-tenured state lawmaker in county history before he retired in 1998.

When Lloyd ran, Democrats accounted for about 40 percent of the voters in the district. Now, the difference is even greater since the last time the district was reapportioned, he said.

“If someone isn’t committed to running multiple times, it’s a very difficult challenge,” said Lloyd, now the state’s small business advocate appointed by the governor.

The 69th district covers the southern two-thirds of Somerset County along with a slice of western Bedford County.

This year, Republicans hold a sizable advantage with 21,458 voters compared with 14,646 Democrats, records from elections offices in the two counties show.

Somerset County Commissioner John Vatavuk, the county’s Democratic Party chairman, said members of the minority party face an difficult challenge. In the 69th, Democrat Ken Warnick of Meyersdale is opposing Republican Carl Walker Metzgar of the Berlin area in the race to replace retiring state Rep. Bob Bastian, R-Somerset.

“In those races, the most important part is the primary election,” Vatavuk said of the 69th and 72nd. “Whichever party has the majority usually goes on to win in the fall.

“It’s really hard to overcome that. If you have 3,000 straight-party votes – it’s like you’re handicapping golf - you’re already 3,000 up or down before the race even starts.”



Tribune-Democrat staff writers Mike Faher and Kirk Swauger contributed to this report.

        

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