Interesting outcomes

For a primary in an off-year election, there were plenty of intriguing races Tuesday. In one of the high-profile contests, state Rep. Bill DeWeese of Waynesburg, held off two Democratic challengers to win renomination. DeWeese's troubles and dwindling influence in Harrisburg have been well-documented, but it appears as if DeWeese's home folks will stick by him unless he happens to go from the state House to the "big house." Even then, I'm not so sure. In the race for the remainder of the term of late U.S. Rep. Jack Murtha, a former aide to the congressman, Democrat Mark Critz, scored a fairly easy victory over Republican newcomer Tim Burns. The race had been seen as a toss-up going into Tuesday's voting. Burns gets another change in November, when he and Critz will square off again, this time with a full term on the line. The decision by Burns and the GOP to focus almost solely on linking Critz to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi didn't seem to resonate with voters. It will be interesting to see if Burns pursues a different strategy in the next election. In the big race for the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination, Congressman Joe Sestak put a pretty fair beating on longtime Sen. Arlen Specter. It wasn't that long ago that Sestak was trailing Specter by 30 points in opinion polls. But relentless television advertising portraying Specter as a political opportunist interested only in continuing his own career did the trick. Specter sank like a rock. What are your thoughts on these races and others from Tuesday night?