So Kelly is hoping to bring people together. It won’t be easy; the run-up to the primary was increasingly contentious, with front-runners Kelly Paul Huber trading blows over everything from fiscal responsibility to milking cows. Meanwhile, some grassroots conservatives strongly preferred Tea Party activist Clayton Grabb, who came in third.

“Uniting the party is going to be the big challenge, but the climate will help with that,” Kelly told pa2010.com in a recent interview. “I faced off against a group of honorable and respectable candidates, and I’m sure their supporters know we’re all in this together.”

Democrats hold a slight registration edge in the district, but many of those voters are conservative-leaning. Dahlkemper got far more votes than Kelly on primary day thanks to a much less competitive nominating contest. So now Kelly needs to build a coalition among Republicans, Democrats and independents. Kelly said he’s been reaching out to his felled opponents in the district, which is currently No. 2 on the pa2010.com Congressional Power Rankings.

“They were all great folks I went up against, and I enjoyed being with them,” he said said. “We’re were all in this for the same reason I believe, and I invite them all to join in our effort to put another conservative voice in Congress. ”

Daniel Shea, who is closely following the race as the director of Allegheny College’s Center for Political Participation, said Kelly’s effusive personality would help in courting some conservatives who were skeptical of him.

“As far as these things go, I don’t think any of the campaigns threw enough mud to really damage the party,” Shea said. “I don’t think the party will be significantly fractured, not with Republicans so willing to come together. Between the Tea Party movement, anger about health care and the ballooning deficit, I would say Kelly has a real chance of leading a charge.”

In his youth, Kelly played fullback for the Center Township Rams—a team in the Butler Midget Football League that Kelly, who won the party’s nomination in the 3rd District Tuesday night, would later coach. The fullback-turned-tackle was named to several all-conference and all-state teams. He still serves on local sports league committees, and in 1999 he was inducted into the Butler Area Sports Hall of Fame. Kelly still has the glint of a coach in his eye—so it’s not surprise that sports metaphors never really stop flowing when Kelly is talking.

“That’s my life,” he said during a victory party here. “Football’s a great game because it does teach you about life.

“You really can’t quit,” Kelly said. “You’ve got to leave it all on the field. You have to crawl off the field. If you’re not crawling off the field, it means you didn’t give enough. In my lifetime, what I’ve found out is that people say they like to win, but I don’t think it’s about liking to win. It’s how much you hate losing. If you hate losing, you’ll do anything to not lose. The result, usually, is that you win. But it’s the hating the losing that makes a difference. It’s not about liking to win, because everyone loves to win. But what are you willing to do not to lose?”

Kelly said his interactions with felled primary opponent Paul Huber would be like a post-game handshake.

“We fought really hard,” Kelly said. “We did everything we could. He tried to knock my head off, I tried to knock his head off, but at the end of the game, you shake hands and say ‘great battle.’”

Two hours north in Erie, Huber delivered a somber concession speech.

“Unfortunately we’ve come up just short, and I can’t celebrate a victory, but you should all be proud of the effort that went into this race and your willingness to make a difference,” Huber said. “I especially want to thank my family for their support and encouragement because it’s been a nine-month drive for us, and without their help and support I couldn’t have done it.”

Sara Toth reported from Butler and Jackie Oesmann reported from Erie.

It was several hours after the polls closed before news organizations began calling the race for Kelly, a well-known car dealer here. Both Kelly and primary rival Paul Huber had loaned their campaigns more than $300,000, spending large amounts on paid media to separate themselves from the six-person race. Though the two differed little on policy issues, they were studies in stylistic contrasts, and Kelly was seen as having marginally more local party support. In the end, that dynamic and his effusive personality may have been what pushed him over the edge.

“You have to leave it all on the field,” Kelly said at what turned to be out his victory party here. “If you’re not crawling off the field, you haven’t given enough. If you hate losing, you’ll do anything to not lose. Everyone loves to win, but it’s about what you’re willing to do.”

Kelly won about 28 percent of the vote, compared to just over 26 percent for Huber, a Meadville businessman. Tea Party activist Clayton Grabb finished third with almost 13 percent of the vote, while Steven Fisher, Ed Franz and Martha Moore won about 12, 11 and 9 percent of the vote, respectively. Dahlkemper easily won renomination against primary challenger Mel Marin.

“It is always humbling and an honor to be chosen by the public to represent them,” Dahlkemper said in a statement. “I thank them for their vote of confidence. I look forward to November and success there as well so that I can continue my service to the people of the 3rd District.”

As he celebrated, Kelly said it was time for Republicans to unite against Dahlkemper.

“We had little tweaks of differences, but I think if I can get with my running mates, we can come up with a  strategy that makes sense for all of us,” Kelly said. “It’ll be good for the party and good for the district.”

It was a roller-coaster ride as early returns swung back and forth, closely followed by Kelly supporters in Butler and by Huber supporters in Erie. As the second half of the votes came in, Kelly and Huber were neck-and-neck for some time.

In a concession speech before supporters in Erie (see video), Huber praised the people of the northwest Pennsylvania district. He wouldn’t take questions from reporters after his speech.

“The people in this district are decent, hard-working, and kind people, and they want a government that works for them, not the other way around,” Huber said. “They want jobs that allow them to provide for their families, and they want a country that’s strong and prosperous. I hope that I’ve brought to this race a compassion for these issues that can make this country better, and that you and other voters in this district will demand that the candidates in the general election will continue to speak to these important objectives.”

The district is currently ranked No. 3 on the pa2010.com Congressional Power Rankings.

See a video clip of Kelly’s victory speech below.

Sara Toth reported from Butler and Jackie Oesmann reported from Erie.

And considering the amount of cash Burns has personally injected into his campaign, that wisdom seems to be well-founded.

Burns is hardly the first, and more than likely won’t be the last, political candidate to expend a great deal of personal wealth in an attempt to win office. Heck, in this primary season alone, two candidates seeking the Republican nomination in the 3rd District, Paul Huber and Mike Kelly, along with Democrat Doug Pike in the 6th District, have done the same.

But that doesn’t mean that the practice shouldn’t give voters pause, and prompt them to ask themselves—why?

Why would someone pay a small fortune out of their own pocket to earn a job that may reward them with just a fraction of that in salary?

Is it ego-gratification, just another notch on the belt or a line in the resume? A power-grab, with the hopes of securing some sort of gain for oneself and one’s associates? A desire to get close to the “seat of power,” to feel like “an insider,” one of the “movers and shakers?”

Whatever the reasons, one can be reasonably confident that the last one on the list, if it’s even on the list, is “to do good work for the people.”

No one spends hordes of their own money or buys themselves something because they think it’s going to be to someone else’s benefit. Oh, we can all try and convince ourselves of those sorts of altruistic intentions when we really don’t want to have to admit our own selfish motives to ourselves, but they’re there, nevertheless.

What is driving Tim Burns, and the other candidates for office this time around, to use so much of their own personal fortunes to try and gain political office for themselves?

The answers might be as varied as the individuals involved.

But one common thread runs through all of the races—the behavior itself should cause voters to stop and ask themselves that same question.

Join me tonight from 8-10 p.m. for a live-chat at WPSU.org.

Republican Paul Huber, one of two Republican front-runners in the six-way primary field, loaned his campaign another $25,000 on Friday, according to campaign finance data. This came just days after Mike Kelly, Huber’s chief rival for the party’s nod to take on Congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper, briefly surpassed Huber as the loan-leader in the race.

Huber has now loaned his campaign $325,000 and Kelly has kicked in $315,000.

Tea Party activist Clayton Grabb, physician Martha Moore, insurance agent Steven Fisher and factory worker Ed Franz are also running.

The district is ranked No. 3 in the pa2010.com Congressional Power Rankings.

“Unlike Paul, I grew up on a farm,” Kelly said during the debate at Allegheny College here.

Huber let it pass—but not for long. In separate interviews with pa2010.com the next day, they were trading barbs over just who is really the candidate of the working farmer. The back-and-forth underscores the importance of courting farm-economy workers in the northwest Pennsylvania district, where agriculture is a major industry.

Tea Party activist Clayton Grabb, physician Martha Moore, insurance agent Steven Fisher and factory worker Ed Franz are also running for the party’s nod to take on Congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper. But Huber and Kelly are widely seen as the favorites because each as put about $300,000 into their respective campaigns and is flooding the airwaves in an increasingly contentious TV war.

In reality, both of them grew up on farms—just different kinds of farms. But that didn’t stop each of them from taking shots at their opponent’s farming bona fides.

In Erie, Huber made sure a reporter understand that his reference at the debate to an “82-pound cow” indicated how much milk it produces, not how much it weights.

“I would wager that most of [my opponents] wouldn’t know what that remark was about unless you explained it to them,” Huber said in Erie. “I can speak the language of this district.

“Not having a farming background makes it tough to understand these issues,” Huber added. “I will bet you a dollar to the doughnut that Mike Kelly has never milked a cow.”

Asked if he has, Huber quickly responded, “You’re damn right. More than once.”

Later, while waiting for a campaign event to start in Parker, Kelly joked that Huber “can keep his dollar.”

“We didn’t have dairy cattle,” Kelly said. “We had beef cattle. You don’t want to milk them. He can keep the money, I don’t want him to milk the bull.

“I’m not as stupid as he thinks,” Kelly added. “I’ll bet dollars to the doughnut that only one of us will come out if we go behind the barn. He likes people to believe that he’s a little farm boy, and he’s not a little farm boy.”

•Also on pa2010.com: In Huber vs. Kelly, the stylistic contrast is clear

One of the new spots came from Republican gubernatorial front-runner Tom Corbett. It’s a softer look at the state attorney general, in which he chats with folks at a barbershop. “In my very first week as governor,” Corbett says in the ad, “I’m going to send a reform plan to Harrisburg legislators, and believe me, some of them aren’t going to like it.” Check out that ad here.

Meanwhile, John Kennedy, the former state Representative and GOP candidate for Lieutenant Governor, is reportedly hitting the airwaves himself. The nature of his late-game buy remains unclear, but he is one of only three candidates in the crowded race with the resources to mount a TV campaign. The spot says Kennedy will “finish the job he started.” Check it out here.

And 3rd District Republican hopeful Mike Kelly is pushing back against an ad by primary opponent Paul Huber. Kelly’s latest 30-second spot says Huber is “falsely attacking” him, and hits the Meadville businessman over the much discussed—and hotly disputed—claims that Huber’s business sent jobs overseas. It also criticizes Huber for being a lifelong Democrat until last year. “Mike Kelly will never raise your taxes,” a narrator says. See the ad embedded below.

And 12th District Democratic underdog Ryan Bucchianeri doesn’t have money for TV ads, but he’s still taking to the radio. The spot unveiled by his campaign Wednesday summarizes his bio and notes his recent endorsements from area newspapers. Check out the ad here.

Meanwhile, Republican Paul Huber got a nice boost in his campaign for the party’s nomination in the 3rd Congressional District. Huber, a Meadville businessman, was endorsed by former Congressman John Peterson, who for six terms represented central Pennsylvania’s 5th District. “After reviewing all of the candidates running for the Republican nomination in the 3rd District, I am proud to endorse Paul Huber,” Peterson said in a campaign statement. “More than any other candidate, Paul has the strength and experience to stand up to Nancy Pelosi and the Obama administration and hold them accountable. I am confident that he will also take on his own leadership when they deviate from conservative principles.”

We also learned that, later in the week, the famous “Joe the Plumber” will return to Pennsylvania. He’s coming here, once again, to stump for conservative gubernatorial candidate Sam Rohrer. The state Representative’s campaign said that the man less often known as Samuel Wurzelbacher will make three stops for Rohrer on Thursday, starting at a coffee shop in Latrobe and ending at a diner in West Blairsville. Mr. The Plumber previously appeared at Rohrer’s big campaign rally in Harrisburg back in February.

And if there’s a prize for most ridiculous campaign ad of this political season, we can call the contest now. Our winner is undoubtedly the new spot being run by the conservative group RightChange.com. The animated ad is being aired ahead of next week’s 12th District special election—at a cost of more than $80,000—and introduces us to a creature known as the “50-foot Nancy Pelosi.”

Check it out below.

Huber is wonkish and reserved, sometimes even stoic as he displays a mastery of nitty-gritty policy details. His hands mostly sit idly on the table during debates, and he doesn’t get much more animated when he’s one-on-one, with a subtle smile and a slim frame. Kelly, on the other hand, is gregarious and larger than life—both literally and figuratively—a tall man with broad shoulders and a tendency to make jokes about his Irish heritage.

If Huber is Al Gore, then Kelly is Bill Clinton—or whatever analogies the two Republicans would find more comforting. These contrasts were on clear display during a forum at Allegheny College here last month, and in separate interviews with the candidates in Erie and Parker. Both are spending heavily on paid media in their efforts to win the party’s nomination to take on Congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper (D-3). But both are also doing loads of retail campaigning and traditional political glad-handing, and the outcome of their contest could prove a bellwether, however faint, of just what kind of style voters want from their politicians right now.

Both campaigns think their respective candidate’s style is the right one for the moment.

“He’s an animated guy,” Huber said of Kelly. “But when people ask me about specific issues, they get specific answers.”

Kelly, for his part, was somewhat dismissive of the many policy initiatives Huber has rolled out, initiatives Huber frequently emphasized during the forum in Meadville.

“Paul’s got a lot of programs,” Kelly said. “That’s nice, but I don’t think freshman congressmen get to do that much. I think people want someone to represent them who’s going to be strong, who’s going to go to the floor of Congress not to be intimidated or seduced.”

Campaign managers for both candidates are certainly aware of their boss’ strengths, and are playing to those in public settings.

“There are 435 members of [the House,” Kelly campaign manager Jon Hopcraft told pa2010.com. “You get one vote for this district, and you better make sure that voice is loud, articulate and conservative.”

Huber campaign manager Danny O’Driscoll said charisma isn’t enough for the current political climate.

“I think all voters appreciate Paul’s substance when he talks about the issues that are important,” O’Driscoll said. “When Paul talks to voters, they know that he’s sincere in what he believes.

“They want to hear details,” he added. What we saw from 2008 is that when you have a lot of rhetoric about hope and change without a lot of substance, voters have no idea about what a candidate actually stands for.”

Kelly, one of two Republican front-runners in the crowded 3rd District primary, loaned his campaign another $100,000 late last week, according to newly-filed campaign finance data.

Paul Huber, Kelly’s chief rival for the nomination to take on Congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper (D-3), has loaned his campaign $300,000 over the course of the cycle. And Kelly’s latest loan, first reported by Early Returns 2.0, brings the amount of money Kelly has kicked into his own campaign to $265,000.

Huber has been saturating the airwaves for weeks in the northwest Pennsylvania district, while Kelly went on the air more recently and has focused more heavily on direct mail. The last-minute loan may presage a heavier investment in TV during the closing days of the campaign.

The district is currently ranked No. 3 on the pa2010.com Congressional Power Rankings.

UPDATE: Kelly later loaned his campaign yet another $50,000, according to campaign finance data, bringing his total loans to an amount greater than Huber’s.