Tom Waring, the Wire
The United Steelworkers have endorsed Steve Santarsiero in the 8th Congressional District race.
Santarsiero has 15 labor union endorsements. Primary opponent Shaughnessy Naughton has none.
United Steelworkers District 10 Director Bob McAuliffe released the following statement:
“Steve Santarsiero has a proven track record in the Pennsylvania state legislature of fighting tirelessly to better the lives of workers and their families. His support of a stronger education system is well-documented, and he has been a leading voice for creating jobs by rebuilding our crumbling state infrastructure. The USW does not normally endorse in a primary race such as this, but we felt it necessary to do so here.
“Steve’s unwavering support for working families in the legislature is not just talk — it is proven. He will be a great voice in Congress. In our opinion, Steve is the only Democratic candidate in this race who can win this seat in November, and he will do that by appealing to a large, cross-section of the electorate. USW local unions and members in the 8th Congressional District will be going to work soon to help make sure that Steve will be on the November ballot.”
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With Santarsiero running for Congress, his state legislative seat is up for grabs.
The deadline was last week to file. Democrats Alex Lipton and Perry Warren will square off in the primary, with the winner to face Republican Ryan Gallagher.
Republican Reps. Gene DiGirolamo and Frank Farry will be unopposed in the primary and general elections.
Democratic Rep. Tina Davis will face Republican Drew Kreiling.
Democratic Rep. John Galloway will take on Republican Gautum D. Patel.
Republican Rep. Scott Petri will meet Democrat Neale Dougherty. Petri was considered the leading Republican candidate for Congress, but that was before Brian Fitzpatrick entered the race. Petri dropped out of the Congressional race in time to run for re-election to his state House seat.