Rep. Jason Altmire (D)

The congressman from the 4th District is Jason Altmire, a Democrat elected in 2006. Altmire grew up outside of Pittsburgh, the only child of a single mother who was a school teacher. He was a star high school athlete until he suffered a knee injury. He attended Florida State University, worked to rehabilitate his knee and made the football team as a walk-on player. He suffered another injury as the team trained to play in the Sugar Bowl. Altmire volunteered for the successful campaign of Florida Democrat Pete Peterson for the U.S. House, and then worked as Peterson’s legislative aide for six years, developing expertise in health care issues. Altmire earned a master’s degree in health administration at George Washington University while working on Capitol Hill, and at age 25, was appointed to President Bill Clinton’s health care task force. Following a short stint with the Federation of American Hospitals, he returned home to western Pennsylvania in 1998 for a job with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, eventually becoming vice president for government relations. Sixteen months before the general election in 2006, Altmire quit his $130,000-a-year job and jumped into the race against Republican Rep. Melissa Hart, who had held the seat since 2000. A conservative, Hart was seen as one of the Republican Party’s rising stars and had faced only light opposition in her re-election campaigns.

In the Democratic primary, Altmire defeated businesswoman Georgia Berner, who supported abortion rights while Altmire stressed his opposition to both abortion rights and gun control. He was outspent, but he enjoyed support from key labor groups. He won 55%-45% with strong support from his Allegheny County base, which he carried by nearly 10,000 votes. In the general election campaign, Altmire positioned himself as more socially conservative than the national Democratic Party, but also turned to two liberal lightning rods to help fill his coffers. In July, he went door-to-door with Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, and in October, comedian (and later senator) Al Franken appeared at an Altmire fundraiser. An ad financed by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee tied the incumbent to the sinking popularity of Bush and conservative Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania. An Altmire ad criticized Hart for voting to “raid” the Social Security trust fund and to cut veterans’ benefits and student loans. Hart outspent Altmire by more than $1 million, but she was fighting an anti-Republican current in a traditionally Democratic district. Altmire won 52%-48%, narrowly losing Allegheny County but winning by large margins in traditionally Democratic Beaver County.

In the House, Altmire went his own way from Democratic Party leaders. His voting record left him almost precisely at the center of the House in each of his first two years. He joined the centrist New Democrats and the Blue Dog Coalition of conservative Democrats. When anti-war groups in 2007 criticized his votes to support military funding for the Iraq war, Altmire responded, “I am never going to vote to cut funding for our troops when they are on the field of battle.”

With his legislative experience, he scored some accomplishments. His proposal for increased screening for traumatic brain injuries for U.S. soldiers returning from Iraq was included in the defense spending bill that became law in January 2008. With help from Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland, Altmire won passage of a bill to prevent the military from curtailing bonuses to soldiers who ended their service because of serious injury. But he made life difficult for Hoyer in 2009 by insisting on repeal of the District of Columbia’s strict gun control laws as a condition for his support for D.C. gaining a voting member in the House.

On the Small Business Committee, Altmire tended to his district’s technology interests in 2007 by pushing a bill through the House to permit small businesses to qualify for research grants even if they have benefited from venture capital.

Hart sought a rematch in 2008. She blasted his votes for higher taxes and said that he failed to take action on high gas prices. Altmire said Hart was “wrong then and now.” Altmire raised twice as much money as Hart and easily held the seat, 56%-44%. But he cannot take the seat for granted, as he could be a Republican target again.