On Monday, February 8, 2010, longtime Pennsylvania congressman John Murtha passed away following complications from gall bladder surgery. Rep. Murtha was 77 years old and had served in the House of Representatives since 1974, and was running for re-election in 2010 with no intention of stepping down anytime soon.
The death comes as a bit of a shock to his family as well as the Democratic caucus. He had entered the hospital for gall bladder surgery, but had severe complications and passed away after being placed in intensive care over the weekend.
The death of Rep. Murtha, one of the House's most senior Democrats and one of the most outspoken critics of the Bush administration, will put at risk a Democratic seat in an increasing conservative area. Rep. Murtha had a close race in 2008, running against a returning Iraq war veteran who could clearly be counted among those characterized by Rep. Murtha in Congress as part of "a flawed policy wrapped in an illusion"
Despite his harsh characterizations of Marines as "cold-blooded killers" and his assertion of voters in his home district as racists, he won re-election with 58% of the vote, on of the tightest races he had ever had.
However, the race will change now that this is an open seat instead of an attempt to defeat an incumbent. A special election will be held within the next couple of months, with the date to be determined sometime next week. Candidates have not yet begun to appear or make themselves known, but it has to be assumed that this seat now has a much larger bullseye on it for a potential flip. While Murtha won re-election in 2008, John McCain won the district, so it is quite possible that the seat will be won by a Republican, thus continuing a winning streak in recent elections in Virginia, New Jersey, and Massachusetts.
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