Scranton attorney Cartwright beats out Congressman Holden

The dean of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation has lost his re-election bid.  Congressman Tim Holden gave a gracious and brief concession speech shortly after the race was called for his Democratic opponent, Scranton attorney Matt Cartwright. The 10-term Blue Dog is telling his supporters in St. Clair to set their eyes on November and get behind Cartwright.   “He deserves our commitment. So I ask all of you tonight, as we move toward the general election, to throw our support behind Matt Cartwright,” said Holden. Maybe it was the bitter feelings from a campaign that went negative, but longtime supporter Helen McGeever says: Fat chance.”I think we’ve lost the seat. I really do,” said McGreever. “It’s sad day for Schuylkill County.” Holden supporters chalked up the tough election to the fact that his 17th congressional district was recently redrawn to include almost 80 percent new territory, including Cartwright’s hometown. On the other end of the state, redistricting pitted two Democratic incumbents against one another — Mark Critz and Jason Altmire. Critz won a closely contested battle by about 1,600 votes.