Rep. Chris Deluzio has unfinished business to complete in his first term. He has been the most persistent advocate for railway safety reform in Congress, as East Palestine happened very close to his district. On the anniversary of that train derailment, Deluzio repeated calls for Speaker Mike Johnson to hold a vote on bipartisan legislation to fix this issue.
In a Friday letter, U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.) urged House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to "bring the Railway Safety Act to the floor for a vote before Congress adjourns for the August recess," highlighting that the bill is backed by Democratic and Republican lawmakers as well as the Biden administration and former President Donald Trump, the GOP presidential frontrunner.
Deluzio, who introduced the House version of the bill with Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.), noted that the Norfolk Southern train derailed and released hazardous materials "less than a mile from the Pennsylvania state line and the homes and farms of my constituents."
"Without dwelling on the resulting health problems, environmental scare, and general lack of trust that I still regularly hear from my constituents, I instead want to empathize that we cannot accept congressional inaction, and how the February 3, 2023 derailment could have been much worse," the congressman wrote. "Folks like us, who live along or near the tracks, refuse to be treated as collateral damage in the way of big railroads' profits."
"Over the last two centuries, railroad companies have wielded their power and influence to protect their profits and avoid commonsense safety measures, allowing them to cut corners and pad the pockets of their corporate shareholders at the expense of the American people," he explained. "After the East Palestine derailment, the big railroad lobby sprang into action once again and lobbied members of Congress—directing them to do nothing to make rail safer and risk cutting into their profits."
Taking on big business in favor of the little guy is a theme you will find in all of the political decisions Deluzio makes. Deluzio is a progressive in a swing seat, and it is up to us to ensure that he gets a chance to complete his unfinished business by electing him to a second term.
That’s easier said than done, because he faces an opponent who has won a couple of tough races in State Rep. Rob Mercuri. The question is whether or not Deluzio can hold a swing seat that has been in Democratic hands since the 2018 blue-wave election.
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Chris Deluzio for Pennsylvania-17
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What’s the Big Idea?
THIS DISTRICT LEANS DEMOCRATIC, with an EVEN PVI
The districts were rejiggered in 2018, because the previous hideously gerrymandered GOP 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 a margin of 52.3% to 46.5%, or just under a six-point margin. That makes it a district still at risk, but there is some breathing room here.
The previous 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 in 2022. Pennsylvania lost a seat in 2020 redistricting, and it was quite possible he would’ve been the odd man out. The Pennsylvania courts drew a map that still had a highly competitive 17th district, so the unknown Chris Deluzio ran to defend this seat. Deluzio won by a surprising 53.4% to 46.6% result.
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 to keep this district. The northern suburbs in particular are very swingy and used to vote for GOP 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 staying in 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.
Who is Rep. Chris Deluzio?
Rep. Chris Deluzio is a graduate of the US Naval Academy for his bachelor’s degree, and of Georgetown Law School for his juris doctor. He was deployed to Iraq with an Army civil affairs unit from 2006 to 2012. He later worked as a litigation associate, joining the Brennan Center of Justice to work on voting rights and election security issues. Deluzio was named a scholar of the University of Pittsburgh Institute for Cyber Law, Policy, and Security. He was a delegate for Bernie Sanders at the 2020 Democratic National Convention and is a deputy whip of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Read here for more background information and a primer on the race.
- Railroad Safety. After the East Palestine train derailment spewed toxic smoke over his district, Deluzio has been one of the more persistent advocates for new railroad safety legislation. He has called for tightened legislation for transporting toxic chemicals, and introduced the bipartisan Railway Safety Act.
- Union Strong. Deluzio is a major supporter of unions, and he would work diligently to make sure the PRO Act passes through Congress during his tenure so that more workers have collective bargaining rights. He would also support measures that better protect workers from the capricious whims of employers. He has been endorsed by some local unions.
- Bring Back Manufacturing. 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 supports the Science and CHIPS Act as a good example of legislation needed to return manufacturing to America.
- Breaking Corporate 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. For instance, he opposes the proposed Kroger-Albertsons merger which would put 15% of grocery stores under one corporation.
- Health Care Helper. Deluzio has called for Medicare for All in a speech at the 2020 Democratic National Convention. He has also co-sponsored legislation that would implement Medicare for All while in Congress. He supports interim steps such as lowering the Medicare age, adding vision/dental/hearing coverage to Medicare, and expanding Medicaid access.
- Defending Democracy. Deluzio’s time at the Brennan Center of Justice gives him the background to speak with authority on this issue. He supports the John Lewis VRA Act, the For the People Act, and overturning Citizens United. He knows from experience that fair maps are better than gerrymandered ones, being the beneficiary of a fair map himself. End Citizens United/Let America Vote has endorsed his campaign.
- Gun Safety Champion. Deluzio supports common sense gun reforms like background checks for every gun sale, getting high-capacity magazines and weapons of war off our streets and out of our schools, and red flag laws to keep guns out of the hands of people who are a danger to themselves or others. He has been endorsed by Giffords PAC and Brady PAC for his gun safety stances.
- Abortion Rights Ally. Deluzio would codify Roe into law, as well as vote against bans for IVF, birth control, and contraception. He will fight hard in Washington to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act which would protect these rights at a federal level. Planned Parenthood and Reproductive Freedom for All have endorsed his campaign for Congress.
- Funding for Ukraine. Unlike the rest of his colleagues from western Pennsylvania, Deluzio fully supports the effort to fund Ukraine and has signed onto the discharge petition to try and force a vote on the issue in the House. He also supports funding for Taiwan and Israel, as passed through the Senate already.
Who is Rob Mercuri?
State Rep. Rob Mercuri has represented a swing seat north of Pittsburgh since 2020. He graduated from the US Military Academy in 2004. He completed two deployments in Iraq as an intelligence officer embedded in a military training unit. Upon completing his military service, he earned an MBA from UMass-Amherst and worked for two accounting firms in New York. He moved back to Pennsylvania upon being hired by PNC Bank and eventually opened his own small business.
Mercuri, like many in the GOP these days, has a scrubbed and bland issues page on his website. I have to rely on other sources to show his true agenda.
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Forced Birth Maniac. Mercuri may have scrubbed his stances on abortion from his website, but the internet never forgets. He co-sponsored a six-week abortion ban in the state legislature, and voted for Senate Bill 106, which would have banned abortion with a constitutional amendment. His Ballotpedia survey in 2020 touts him as “pro-life”, and a voter survey touts him as stating ‘life begins at conception, and abortion exceptions should be exceedingly rare’.
- Dismantling Education. Mercuri is a huge proponent of school choice in Pennsylvania. He would support school choice nationwide, and would likely encourage a nationwide voucher scheme (or at least promote it in each state). He said “religious reasons” and “students with disabilities” prompt more school choice. He also touts a (conservative) parental rights in education stance on his issues page.
- Debt and Deficit Peacock. Mercuri supports a Balanced Budget Amendment, which would either cause drastic tax increases or severely curtail most government programs. He opposes all tax increases. He calls the Biden-Harris agenda “socialist economic policy”. The Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity has endorsed his campaign, which means they like him on these issues.
- Economic Extremist. While in the state legislature, Mercuri has voted against extending work safety protections. He also has refused to raise the minimum wage in Pennsylvania. He has even claimed that the government shouldn’t “ensure everyone has a livable income.” No wonder the Koch network loves him so much!
- 2nd Amendment Zealot. Mercuri has scrubbed all information related to guns from his website, but his 2020 Ballotpedia survey touts him as “pro 2nd amendment”. A search of his record does come up with him supporting background check legislation, so he isn’t irredeemable on this issue.
- Immigration Hardliner. Mercuri calls for “sealing the border”, which in the past meant “building the wall”. He claims to want a ‘comprehensive immigration solution’, but also does not want to ‘reward illegal behavior’. He would deny all funding to so-called “sanctuary cities” that defy immigration laws.
- Religious Bigot. While Mercuri does not call for Obergefell to be overturned, in a survey he states that ‘Religious liberty is at risk in the United States and deserves the highest level of protection in the law.’ He would allow companies to discriminate against people who are LGBTQ+ if it is a part of their ‘sincerely held religious beliefs’.
How Can You Help?
If you’re looking to help out Rep. Chris Deluzio, there are three different ways to do so. First, you could give his campaign a donation. Second, if you live in the Pittsburgh metro area, you can volunteer for his campaign. If you aren’t the donating or volunteering type, you could boost Deluzio on social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook.
The fight for this district will be fought on the airwaves, much like any other swing seat. With Pennsylvania hosting a competitive Senate seat and the Presidential race as well, advertising rates will be expensive. Plus, there is the GOTV operation, which can also be expensive. Donations are critical to funding any campaign, and that includes Rep. Chris Deluzio.
Neither Rep. Deluzio or the challenger Mercuri have kicked their fundraising into a higher gear yet. The incumbent raised a total of $457k during the Q4 reporting period, which is okay but not great. His saving grace is that Mercuri raised much less than him, only banking $201k during the same time period. Deluzio has a lot more cash available right now too, having $986k to spend. Mercuri only has $282k to start 2024, which won’t get him far. Deluzio has raised a grand total of $1.5M during the campaign so far. This still has the potential to be an expensive race — donate to Deluzio today!
If you live in the Pittsburgh metro area or in the surrounding counties, this swing seat is likely the area you will be asked to volunteer in. As the weather gets warmer, canvassing and dialing for dollars will kick into higher gear. To run a successful campaign, it takes dedicated volunteers to do the never ending tasks a campaign generates. Know that by helping out Rep. Chris Deluzio, you are also helping out Sen. Bob Casey and the Biden-Harris campaign as well!
There is one more way to help out Rep. Chris Deluzio, and it doesn’t take much effort at all! Social media is as important as traditional campaigning these days, chiefly because so many people get their news from those platforms. Boosting Deluzio on his official House accounts and campaign accounts will make sure the news about his campaign gets out there!
Deluzio has 9.8k followers on his official Twitter account, which is decent for a freshman incumbent. He’s been using it frequently to endorse legislation and push for measures that need to pass. For instance, the East Palestine train derailment happened very close to his district. He’s been pushing for the Railway Safety Act ever since.
Deluzio has a paltry 1k followers on his official Facebook account. He posts some unique content on his official Facebook account that doesn’t make it to Twitter. A example of this content is him exposing another way GOP Secretaries of State are undermining election security.
Deluzio’s campaign Twitter account has 10.2k followers, which is decent for a freshman incumbent. He doesn’t use his campaign account nearly as frequently as his official account, but I expect that to change as campaign season ramps up. Here, he chides the GOP for being against infrastructure improvements.
Deluzio has 1.8k followers on his campaign Facebook account, which shows there is definitely room to grow his following on this social media platform. Here, he touts yet another union endorsement from a local labor council!
Help spread the word today by following Rep. Chris Deluzio and boosting his accomplishments and his campaign in the critical realm of social media.
Rep. Chris Deluzio is a progressive residing in a swing seat, and that fact alone will always make him vulnerable. Daily Kos ranks him tied for the 22nd most vulnerable Democratic member of Congress. That may be inflated by his surprise larger win in 2022, because this seat had a close contest in 2020 under very similar lines.
State Rep. Rob Mercuri doesn’t have much of an online paper trail that I could find. His website is devoid of stances on critical issues and news headlines really don’t exist for him. What is present paints him as another far-right legislator that would work to enact the MAGA agenda. Deluzio needs to define Mercuri quickly, before the state representative has a chance to reinvent himself.
The question is, can Rep. Chris Deluzio hold onto this seat that has been in the Democratic column since the 2018 blue wave?
Chris Deluzio for Pennsylvania-17
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