When Rep. Conor Lamb decided to run for the Senate seat, it left open a swing seat near Pittsburgh. It will be a very tough hold, as even Lamb barely won the district in 2020. The Democratic Party has decided to go with Chris Deluzio as their candidate, and he faces off against a self-funding Republican in the fall. Majority Savers heads to Pennsylvania’s 17th district to profile this race!
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Chris Deluzio for Pennsylvania-17
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Candidate Background
Chris Deluzio has a varied background, with stints in Iraq combined with some lawyer work back in the states. Red to Blue was especially helpful in getting information on him, as he has qualified for that group.
- He graduated from the US Naval Academy in time to be deployed to Iraq for three stints. He also went to Iraq as a US Army Civil Affairs Officer. It is this experience that makes him a dovish candidate who knows that war is hell.
- Once he returned to the states, he became a voting rights attorney in the Pittsburgh area. He has worked for the Brennan Center for Justice and for Pitt Cyber later on. It is the GQP becoming authoritarian that drove Deluzio to enter politics as a candidate for this district.
- Deluzio helps contribute to other organizations in western Pennsylvania. These include the Veterans Leadership Program, and the Pitt Faculty Organizing Committee which gave him experience in union membership.
Signature Issues
Deluzio appears to be a progressive on most issues he lists on his campaign website. I suspect that he will be a little more pragmatic if he is elected to Congress. Just like everyone else I have profiled so far, he will be strong on voting rights, abortion, and health care. Let’s take a look at some unique positions he holds.
War Powers: Having served in Iraq multiple times, Deluzio knows that combat is hell and should be avoided whenever possible. He would greatly scrutinize every AUMF to make sure that it is necessary for our national security. He would be a voice of restraint in a Congress that too often beats the drum of war.
Corporate Power and Monopolies: Deluzio believes that anti-trust legislation needs updating to reflect the modern day monopolies, and that anti-trust legislation should be enforced more often. He would also support measures that better protect workers from the capricious whims of employers. Finally, he would make sure corporations pay their fair share instead of buying back stocks to enrich themselves at the expense of the American people.
Unions and Supply Chains: As Pittsburgh is the eastern terminus of the Rust Belt, it is important for Deluzio to sound protectionist on issues involving trade. He believes that industry should be brought back to America to fix the supply chain issues. He is also a major supporter of unions, and he would work diligently to make sure the PRO Act passes through Congress during his tenure.
Elections History
Recent Elections —
2020 President: Joe Biden (D) 52.3%, TFG (R-inc) 46.5%
2020 House: Conor Lamb (D-inc) 51.1%, Sean Parnell (R) 48.9%
2022 Race Rating: Tossup
2022 PVI: EVEN
The districts were rejiggered in 2018, because the previous hideously gerrymandered GQP map for Congress was found to violate the Pennsylvania constitution. That makes it difficult to tell you the history of the district, but I am going to give it my best shot. This is for sure a district that Clinton narrowly won in 2016, and Biden won in 2020 by the margins above.
The outgoing representative for this district, Rep. Conor Lamb, punched his ticket to Congress in a special election for a district in southwestern Pennsylvania that shocked the political establishment. He stayed in Congress by hopping to the newly made 17th district and challenging a fellow incumbent in Rep. Keith Rothfus. Rothfus was smoked by Lamb in a contest that wasn’t even close.
2020 was a different story for Rep. Conor Lamb. He had a highly competitive race to stay in Congress, which likely influenced his decision to run for the open Senate seat this year. Pennsylvania lost a seat in 2020 redistricting, and it was quite possible he was the odd man out. The Pennsylvania courts drew a map that still had a highly competitive 17th district, so the unknown Chris Deluzio is running to defend this seat now. He’ll need all the help he can get to save this district for our side.
Political Tour of the District
This district is quite easy to handicap. If it is a suburb of Pittsburgh, it is likely to be blue. If it is an exurb in Allegheny County, it is more likely to be red. Beaver County cities are still blue, but the countryside (which makes up most of the county) has been trending deep red recently.
Here’s where this race will be won in the 17th district.
- Pittsburgh Suburbs: The district wraps around Pittsburgh to take in the northern suburbs, eastern suburbs, and western suburbs of this metro area. Deluzio will have to run up the margins in places like Penn Hills and Mt. Lebanon in order to keep this district. The northern suburbs in particular are very swingy and used to vote for GQP candidates.
- Beaver County Cities: There are some blue precincts in Beaver County, and they correspond to the small cities mostly found along the Ohio River. Deluzio needs to maintain the Biden margins in these areas to have a shot at going to Congress.
Here’s where we need to keep the margins down, or we lose.
- Allegheny County Exurbs: The further away from Pittsburgh you get, the more red precincts start popping up. Many of these precincts are a light red, meaning Deluzio should still contest those areas. It is only the most rural portions of the county that are beet red.
- Rural Beaver County: These portions of the district again depend on how close to the Ohio River you are. There are some light red precincts near the river that should be a contest, but other parts away from the river are beet red and will not net Deluzio very many votes.
Activism — Help How You Can!
Chris Deluzio had a decent fundraising number last quarter, with him getting $468k in funds. That probably isn’t enough, but he had a contested primary to get through first which hinders his ability to fundraise. I expect a much better quarter this quarter. His opponent, Jeremy Shaffer, only raised $252k, but he self-funded another $500k for a total of $752k for the quarter. Being outraised is usually a bad omen for holding the district. Dark money will also likely be in play here.
Deluzio is hurting for cash on hand right now. He only has $348k to spend as of the end of June thanks to a contested primary. Shaffer has a clear advantage with his self-funding ability. He has a grand total of $937k to spend, nearly three times the amount Deluzio has. Deluzio risks being swamped by this self-funder. Please rush a donation to him today in order to defend this seat!
DONATE TO CHRIS DELUZIO HERE
If you are in the Pittsburgh area, this is the important race near you. Volunteering for a campaign can be time consuming, but it is worth doing so in the end. It is much more than canvassing or text/phone banking, although those are key components of a great campaign. Signing up at https://www.mobilize.us/chrisforpa/ isn’t too difficult, and you help senate candidate John Fetterman and governor candidate Josh Shapiro at the same time!
Deluzio is a typical challenger in terms of social media presence. He has around 4.8k followers on Twitter, which is decent for someone who is running their first campaign. He is a prolific tweeter, so follow him to get his message out!
He also has a presence on Facebook at ChrisforPA. It contains much of the same information that his Tiwtter account does. If you find something worthwhile to share, please do so!
This district is going to be a tough slog for any candidate, and especially a first time candidate. Chris Deluzio might be at a distinct disadvantage in the money race right now, but the top of the ticket is very strong, and that might aid him in winning this district. Majority Savers wishes his campaign luck in contesting the swingy 17th district of Pennsylvania!
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Chris Deluzio for Pennsylvania-17
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