Murhta in trouble?
This would be really good news and it is time for the Jack Murtha to be seen home.
Two veteran warriors battling to represent the 12th Congressional District appear locked in the closest race in the district in years.
Democratic Rep. John Murtha leads retired Army Lt. Col. William Russell by a little more than 4 percentage points, within the Susquehanna Poll’s 4.9-point margin of error. The poll of 400 likely voters was conducted for the Tribune-Review on Tuesday, amid uproar over Murtha’s statement that some of his constituents are racist.
Stanley Shemanski, 67, a retired meat cutter who lives in Apollo, said he’s undecided about the congressional race. He doesn’t know much about Russell, but he’s upset with Murtha’s comment that racism in the district could hurt Democrat Barack Obama’s chances.
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About 54 percent of voters among those polled say it’s time for someone else to represent them in Congress. About 35 percent say Murtha deserves to be re-elected.
“The most important variable here is that a decisive majority say it’s time for a new person,” said Jim Lee, president of Susquehanna Polling and Research. He attributed some of the unhappiness with Murtha to the congressman’s recent comments.
It’s tough to know how big a factor that is, though, because little attention had been paid to the race, Lee said. Political analysts didn’t expect Murtha to be vulnerable.
