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Murtha Overcomes 'Racist' Gaffe to Win Re-Election in Pennsylvania.(John Murtha)(Brief article)

Article from: U.S. News & World Report Article date: November 04, 2008 Author: Ruggeri, Amanda

Byline: Amanda Ruggeri

Pennsylvania Democrats can sigh with relief tonight, and not just because their state went to Barack Obama (http://www.usnews.com/features/news/politics/candidates-obama.html): Congressman John Murtha has been able to overcome a bout of foot-in-mouth disease and win over Republican William Russell.

Whether Murtha would win his 18th term representing his southwestern, staunchly Democratic district hadn't even been a question in this election. Until, that is, the 76-year-old powerhouse and close ally of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called his area ...

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'Redneck' Constituents Cool on Murtha

Posted Oct 27, 08 10:06 AM CDT in Politics 

'Redneck' Constituents Cool on Murtha
Source: AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, FILE

(Newser) – Democratic stalwart John Murtha just can’t give himself a break. The 17-term congressman first insulted his constituents by saying, “There’s no question Western Pennsylvania is a racist area,” in a newspaper interview, Politico recalls. Then, as his opponent gained traction in polls, Murtha apologized, but added, “This whole area, years ago, was really redneck.” Now he finds himself in a race for his political life.

The first Vietnam veteran elected to Congress, Murtha is known for larding his rural district with federal pork-barrel dollars, and for decades cruised to reelection. In 2005, he gained some national notoriety for publicly turning against the Iraq war, but still won reelection with 61%. Now he has just a 5% margin over a virtually unknown veteran of the Iraq war, and even SNL is having fun at his expense.

Sources: Politico, NBC

More about:  Election 2008 • John Murtha

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Democratic Rep. apologizes for dissing state's west

CNN CNN Oct 16, 08 2:05 PM CDT
(Newser) - Rep. John Murtha apologized for saying yesterday that “racist” western Pennsylvanians wouldn’t vote for Barack Obama, CNN reports. “While we cannot deny that race is a factor in this election, I believe we've been able to look beyond race these past few months,” the Democrat said today in a statement. “I believe he will win both Pennsylvania and the White House.” More »

More about:  Barack Obama • Election 2008 • Hillary Clinton • Obama 2008 • race • Pennsylvania • John Murtha

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More about:  Election 2008 • celebrity • Angelina Jolie • celebrity divorces • Brad Pitt • cigarettes • Jennifer Aniston

Franken, Coleman Agree to Count 900 Rejected Ballots

But court case could keep race on for months

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(Newser) - The battling campaigns in the Minnesota Senate race have agreed to count some 900 incorrectly rejected ballots, an unexpectedly high proportion of the 1,350 reviewed by county officials. The system required both campaigns to agree on every ballot, which made such a figure seem unlikely, Talking Points Memo reports. More »

More about:  Election 2008 • Congress • Senate • Minnesota • Al Franken • Norm Coleman • ballots • counting

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