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Democrats pick Murtha aide for special election

HARRISBURG - Pennsylvania Democrats have chosen former congressional aide Mark Critz as the nominee for a special election to fill the U.S. House seat vacated by the Feb. 8 death of John Murtha.

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HARRISBURG - Pennsylvania Democrats have chosen former congressional aide Mark Critz as the nominee for a special election to fill the U.S. House seat vacated by the Feb. 8 death of John Murtha.

Party officials cited Critz's victory in a nonbinding straw poll by local party members over the weekend.

Critz, of Johnstown, won 46 of the 83 votes cast at a meeting Saturday in Delmont, about 20 miles east of Pittsburgh. He was a longtime aide of Murtha's and had been endorsed by the congressman's widow. Former state treasurer and auditor general Barbara Hafer received 22 votes, and Cambria County controller Ed Cernic took 14. - AP

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