Incumbent Democratic Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Aspinwall, has defeated his Republican opponent, State Rep. Rob Mercuri, R-Pine, in the race for Pennsylvania’s 17th Congressional District.
When the Associated Press called the race at 12:19 a.m. Wednesday morning, Mr. Deluzio had 224,800 votes and Mr. Mercuri had 196,166 votes — a gap of roughly 7 percentage points.
The 17th District includes the northern reaches of Allegheny County and all of Beaver County, which has steadily shifted Republican since the turn of the century. As a result, the 17th was widely expected to be the only competitive district in Western Pennsylvania this cycle.
Mr. Deluzio, 40, will begin his second term in January. He was first elected in 2022 after his Democratic predecessor, Conor Lamb, unsuccessfully ran for Senate.
Mr. Deluzio graduated from the United States Naval Academy and served in the Iraq War. After returning home, he earned a degree from Georgetown Law and worked as a legal and policy scholar for the University of Pittsburgh, where he focused on voting rights and election security.
Mr. Mercuri, 43, has served two terms in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, Like Mr. Deluzio, he has a military background: He graduated from West Point and was deployed in Iraq as an intelligence officer. He later worked in a senior position at PNC Bank and is a small business owner.
Mr. Deluzio’s platform heavily featured support for union workers, as well as abortion rights and climate reform. Mr. Mercuri’s platform focused on reducing inflation and illegal immigration.
Mr. Deluzio’s win comes after a fierce campaign where the candidates spent time trading insults and accusations from social media. Mr. Deluzio, who is an outspoken opponent of Donald Trump, referred to the Republican nominee’s supporters as a “horde of budding blood and soil fascists.” Mr. Mercuri called for Mr. Deluzio’s resignation for his comments and said that he was an agent of Jewish billionaire George Soros – a frequent target of right-wing conspiracy theorists.
Mr. Mercuri repeatedly complained that Mr. Deluzio refused to debate him.
“Deluzio is simply too extreme and as a result, he's afraid to have to answer for his radical, progressive agenda,” Mr. Mercuri said in a statement.
Mr. Deluzio responded on X that Mr. Mercuri had declined multiple debate invitations himself and was “lying” about not supporting a six-week abortion ban.
First Published: November 6, 2024, 5:30 a.m.
Updated: November 6, 2024, 8:06 p.m.
