The special election to fill the seat of the late John Murtha (D-PA) in western Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District, as expected, will be held 5/18/10. That day coincides with statewide primary elections.
Ed Rendell (D) said, “At a time when all governments are trying to meet their challenges with reduced revenues, it would be unconscionable to force counties to spend money to hold an additional election which, by law, could be held little more than 30 days earlier.”
Whoever wins that day will have a short term – the seat will be up for a vote again in November.
The best guess of the cost for a special election on a different date is $683K.
RBR-TVBR observation: This seat will be up for a vote again in November – and whoever wins it in May will have a leg up. Basically, it takes a seat in a swing district that was in the firm grip of one individual and puts it very up for grabs twice. That’s two more hot ad-buying periods than PA-12 had any reason to expect when the 2010 cherub chased the 2009 geezer into the history books.
