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Report: Labor leader mulling Altmire challenge

The first bits of health-care-related political fallout hit Congressman Jason Altmire (D-4) Monday, when his vote against health care reform legislation prompted a local labor leader to say he might run against the two-term Democratic incumbent.

It’s too late to get on the primary ballot, with the deadline for gathering signatures having lapsed earlier this month. But Jack Shea, president of the Allegheny County Labor Council, said that he was considering a run, either as a write-in candidate for the primary or an independent candidate for the general. Either would be a daunting task.

“He didn’t keep his word,” Shea, speaking to The Post-Gazette, said of Altmire’s vote against the bill that passed the House Sunday. “I’m not the only one that he committed to. … What he said very plainly was, at the end, the final bill, he would be there.”

State law makes getting on the ballot as an independent exceedingly difficult, and a write-in campaign against a sitting incumbent would have its own challenges. If he opts for the former path, Shea said he’s not worried about his candidacy tipping the competitive seat to the GOP. Former U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan is the likely Republican nominee.

“I’ve thought about that a lot,” Shea told the newspaper. “Everybody kind of says the Democrats are in trouble, but if you look at it deeply it’s the incumbents who are in trouble. I just think the people are really aching for someone who will be truthful with them and try to reach out to the middle class.”

When Altmire was one of only two House Democrats to vote against a health care reform bill late last year, there was briefly some chatter about a primary challenger emerging. But it never happened, and by the time he voted against health legislation a second time, it was too late to get on the ballot.

In an interview with The Post-Gazette, Altmire said he never misled anyone.

“The conversation that he is referring to took place in November,” Altmire said. “At that time I said, ‘Look, I’m going to keep at this. I have every expectation that we’re going get to something that I can vote for.’ We didn’t get to a place were I could do that.”

March 22, 2010 at 5:20 pm

--pa2010.com Staff

Tags: Jack Shea, Jason Altmire, Mary Beth Buchanan, PA-4

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