The new congressman from Pennsylvania’s 3rd District is Republican Mike Kelly, who won this seat in 2010 from Democratic freshman Kathy Dahlkemper. Kelly was born in Pittsburgh in 1948, and his family moved to Butler, Pa., four years later, where his father started a small automobile business in 1953, working seven days a week. “He took the cars off the trains himself, and he serviced them himself. And he built a business, based around a strong work ethic, which was similar to his parents. It’s pretty much the story of western Pennsylvania,” Kelly told National Journal. In high school, Kelly was an all-state football player and was recruited to play at the University of Notre Dame. But he tore up a knee during his freshman year at Notre Dame and dislocated it again in his sophomore season, ending his football career. “It was over very quickly,” he recalled. After college, he worked in the family business, Kelly Chevrolet-Cadillac, as a salesman, eventually becoming general manager. He took out a mortgage to buy the dealership from his father in 1995. “My dad was the kind of guy who believed that unless you have some skin in the game, you wouldn’t be on top of things,” Kelly said. In 2005, Kelly was elected to the Butler City Council. Read More

The new congressman from Pennsylvania’s 3rd District is Republican Mike Kelly, who won this seat in 2010 from Democratic freshman Kathy Dahlkemper. Kelly was born in Pittsburgh in 1948, and his family moved to Butler, Pa., four years later, where his father started a small automobile business in 1953, working seven days a week. “He took the cars off the trains himself, and he serviced them himself. And he built a business, based around a strong work ethic, which was similar to his parents. It’s pretty much the story of western Pennsylvania,” Kelly told National Journal. In high school, Kelly was an all-state football player and was recruited to play at the University of Notre Dame. But he tore up a knee during his freshman year at Notre Dame and dislocated it again in his sophomore season, ending his football career. “It was over very quickly,” he recalled. After college, he worked in the family business, Kelly Chevrolet-Cadillac, as a salesman, eventually becoming general manager. He took out a mortgage to buy the dealership from his father in 1995. “My dad was the kind of guy who believed that unless you have some skin in the game, you wouldn’t be on top of things,” Kelly said. In 2005, Kelly was elected to the Butler City Council.

As the 2010 midterm election approached, Kelly decided to take on Dahlkemper, who had knocked off seven-term GOP incumbent Phil English only narrowly, 51% to 49%, in 2008. Dahlkemper opposed abortion rights, but she took heat from conservatives for voting for the Democrats’ health care reform law, which many anti-abortion activists believed opened the door to taxpayer-funded abortions. Dahlkemper also voted for President Barack Obama’s $787 billion economic stimulus bill. Sensing that she was vulnerable, Kelly and five other Republicans jumped into the race.

In the May primary, Kelly’s toughest opponent proved to be Paul Huber, former chief executive of Seco/Warwick, a maker of industrial furnaces. Kelly ran an ad accusing Huber of outsourcing jobs. Huber asserted that he never outsourced jobs while running his company. Huber also faced criticism over the fact that he had been a registered Democrat until recently, though he said he often voted Republican. Kelly eked out a victory over Huber by just 954 votes out of 54,000 cast.

In the general election, Dahlkemper outraised and outspent Kelly 2-to-1. Kelly stressed his football background, which was an asset in Western Pennsylvania, a football mecca that has produced Hall of Famers Dan Marino and Joe Montana and current stars such as New York Jet Darrelle Revis. On issues, he promised to cut government spending and curtail government interference with small business. Dahlkemper ran an ad in September playing on populist themes, calling Kelly a multimillionaire who has “millions invested in Wall Street and big gas-and-oil companies.” But Kelly described his determination to serve in Congress after the 2008 restructuring of the auto industry resulted in government meddling in his family-owned business. Although his dealership was financially sound, he said that a GM representative told him he could sell Chevrolets but not Cadillacs. With a strong Republican trend in 2010 working in his favor, Kelly won 56% to 44%.