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Argall narrowly wins primary in 17th

State Senator Dave Argall (R-Schuylkill) just barely edged out a win in the 17th District Republican primary Tuesday, winning the Republican Party’s nomination by less than 1,000 votes in the central Pennsylvania district.

Preliminary election returns showed Argall winning 32.4 percent of the vote, with Frank Ryan, a military veteran who has run for the seat before, finishing just behind him at 31 percent. Josh First came in third place with about 23 percent of the vote, followed by Allen Griffith at about 13 percent.

Argall will face incumbent Congressman Tim Holden (D-17), who easily topped his primary rival Sheila Dow-Ford, 65 percent to 35 percent.

It was hardly a decisive victory for Argall. After his late entrance into the race, his support within local party organizations likely made the difference against Ryan, a candidate who has run on a district-wide ballot before.

“We’re very pleased by the win,” Argall told pa2010.com in a phone interview. “We understand we have a lot of work to do between now and November but we are very optimistic. You can’t change Washington if you keep reelecting the same Congressman.”

Ryan could not be reached for comment, but Griffith pledged his support.

Dow-Ford, an education policy advocate, had been fiercely critical of Holden’s opposition to health care reform. Argall is expected to mount a competitive general election challenge, in a racy being heavily targeted by Republicans. In a phone interview, Holden said he looks forward to a “vigorous campaign” in the fall.

“I’m very honored and humbled by the support we received tonight,” Holden said. “We won in every county including my opponent’s hometown Dauphin County.”

Dow-Ford, who fended off a ballot challenge from Holden, said she was not prepared to support the incumbent in his reelection bid.

“Moving forward,” she said, the [35 percent of voters who supported her] were affected because of his mediocre record and coward disregard,” Dow-Ford said. “That’s doggone significant and it needs to be acknowledged. Thank you to the courageous folks in my party who stood up for what I believe in.”

The district is currently ranked No. 9 on the pa2010.com Congressional Power Rankings.

May 19, 2010 at 5:04 am

--Peter Panepinto

Tags: Allen Griffith, Dave Argall, Frank Ryan, Josh First, PA-17, Sheila Dow-Ford, Tim Holden

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