Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District will change parties once more

The 8th Congressional District of Pennsylvania will swing Republican once more as former Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick ousted his longtime rival for the seat, incumbent Democrat Patrick Murphy.

Republican Mike Fitzpatrick will represent Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District, again.  In part of the Republican wave that crossed the nation, Fitzpatrick defeated an incumbent Democrat who swept into office when the Democrats had a big year in 2006.

Fitzpatrick beat Democratic Congressman Patrick Murphy, the same man who ousted Fitzpatrick from the seat in a tight election four years ago.

Fitzpatrick’s spokesman Darren Smith says voters remembered the last time the two men went head-to-head.

“When he lost in 2006 it was a very narrow margin and people remembered his service in the past and they were inclined to go back to it,” Smith says.

At Murphy’s election night headquarters in Bristol, the defeated Democrat thanked his supporters.

“My Dad Jack Murphy used to say, if you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything,” Murphy said. “Well, we stood up to make our country better. For that we should hold our heads high.”

This race wasn’t nearly as close as in 2006.  Then Murphy won by about one thousand votes.  Fitzpatrick won by 27,000 votes yesterday.