** HOLD FOR STORY BY JOE MANDAK** In this photo from October 10, 2012, Rep. Mark Critz, D-Pa., left, and republican candidate Keith Rothfus debate at Penn State Beaver campus in Beaver, Pa. Critz is fighting against Rothfus, a candidate strongly backed by
** HOLD FOR STORY BY JOE MANDAK** In this photo from October 10, 2012, Rep. Mark Critz, D-Pa., left, and republican candidate Keith Rothfus debate at Penn State Beaver campus in Beaver, Pa. Critz is fighting against Rothfus, a candidate strongly backed by the national GOP, to keep the seat in a redrawn western Pennsylvania district that still has a majority of registered Democrats, but which nonetheless tends to vote Republican. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Heidi Murrin) PITTSBURGH OUT, Associated Press
By Associated Press

PITTSBURGH — Democrat U.S. Rep. Mark Critz has spent much of his two-plus years in Congress fighting to keep the seat he took over after his former boss, the powerful John Murtha, died in office in 2010.

After winning a special election and another for a full term that year, Critz had to beat another Democrat in this year's primary after Republican-controlled redistricting combined their turf.

Now Critz is fighting to keep the seat in a redrawn 12th District that tends to vote Republican despite containing a slim majority of registered Democrats.

View Comments

His opponent is Keith Rothfus, a corporate attorney backed by the national party and conservative groups. Their campaign is filling Pittsburgh-area TV stations with ads touting each candidate's conservative credentials, and their differences on health care and free trade.

Join the Conversation
Looking for comments?
Find comments in their new home! Click the buttons at the top or within the article to view them — or use the button below for quick access.