Pennsylvania's 10th congressional district election, 2006

The 2006 Pennsylvania 10th congressional district election was held on November 7 to elect a representative from the ushr|Pennsylvania|10|. Republican four-term incumbent Don Sherwood was defeated by Democrat Chris Carney, a former Defense Department consultant and Navy Lieutenant Commander.

The district in 2006 included outlying portions of Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties outside of Scranton and Wilkes-Barre (communities such as Clarks Summit and the Back Mountain towns of Trucksville and Shavertown) as well as all or most of Bradford, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Pike, Union, Snyder, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming Counties.

Carney will serve a two-year term in the 110th United States Congress from January 3 2007 until January 3 2009.

Primary campaign and results

CQPolitics noted that " [a] t the outset of the 2006 midterm campaign cycle, it would have been difficult to identify a more politically 'safe' member than Pennsylvania Rep. Don Sherwood. A four-term Republican from the strongly conservative 10th District in northeastern Pennsylvania, Sherwood had run unchallenged by Democrats in 2002 and 2004."cite news | url=http://www.cqpolitics.com/2006/10/carneys_bid_turns_sherwood_fro.html | title=Carney’s Bid Turns Sherwood from Unopposed to Apologetic | author=Greg Giroux | date=October 9, 2006 |publisher=CQPolitics.com] But, he "enters the general election campaign in a weakened position mostly because of his extramarital relationship with a young woman, to which he publicly admitted last year. Sherwood, though, adamantly denied the woman’s charges that he also physically abused her. A lawsuit brought by the woman against Sherwood was later settled."cite news | title=PA 10: Lingering Scandal Puts Sherwood on At-Risk List | author=Greg Giroux | date=May 17, 2006 | url=http://www.cqpolitics.com/2006/05/pa_10_lingering_scandal_puts_s.html | publisher=CQPolitics.com]

On May 15, 2006 Sherwood survived a "surprisingly strong challenge" in the Republican primary from Kathy Scott, a political newcomer. [cite news | url=http://www.yorkdispatch.com/pennsylvania/ci_3833177 | title=Four-term congressman survives close race | author=Kimberly Hefling | publisher=AP |date=May 17, 2006] Sherwood received 56% of the vote. "CQPolitics" reported that his "mediocre showing" could be attributed to the admitted affair.cite news | url=http://www.cqpolitics.com/2006/05/pa_house_murphys_easily_win_pr.html | title=PA House: Murphys Easily Win Primaries; Sherwood Hangs On | author=Greg Giroux | date=May 17, 2006 | publisher=CQPolitics.com] Scott did not file a report with the FEC, which indicates that she spent less than $5,000 in her campaign.cite news | title=Santorum calls to shore up Sherwoodauthor=Jonathan E. Kaplan | url=http://thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/050306/santorum.html | date=May 3, 2006 | publisher=The Hill]

His small margin of victory came despite the fact that prior to the primary, Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum endorsed Sherwood and recorded an automated telephone call on Sherwood’s behalf, as did President George W. Bush. [cite news | titlte= Bush offers a pitch for ally Sherwood - uses recorded calls from president | date=May 13, 2006 | author=Borys Krawszeniuk | puoblisher=Scranton Times-Tribune | url=http://thetimes-tribune.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16633822&BRD=2185&PAG=461&dept_id=415898&rfi=6]

The official results were: [cite web | title=Primary Elections (August 15, 2006) | work=2006 General Primary, Tuesday, May 16, 2006, Official Returns | url=http://www.electionreturns.state.pa.us/ElectionsInformation.aspx?FunctionID=13&ElectionID=20&OfficeID=11 |publisher=Pennsylvania Department of State]

Republican Primary

References

External links

* [http://www.house.gov/sherwood/ Don Sherwood's Web site] at the U.S. House of Representatives
* [http://www.carneyforcongress.com/ Chris Carney's Campaign Web Site]