PA 12 Preview

How's your day tomorrow? I bet it won't be as hectic as it will be for Tim Burns. He's the nominee for the 12th Congressional district in the Republican Party.

Call it “Scott Brown, the sequel.” With a “tea party” rebellion at his back, Republican businessman Tim Burns aims to turn a sprawling district in Pennsylvania’s once mighty coal, iron, and steel heartland into the next “Massachusetts miracle” in a May 18 special congressional election

“Why am I running for Congress? Meet one of the biggest reasons,” says Mr. Burns in his first television ad, which features a mug shot of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. “Pelosi’s big-government, liberal agenda is destroying America.”

New to electoral politics, Burns is facing Democrat Mark Critz, a former aide to Rep. John Murtha (D) of Pennsylvania, whose death on Feb. 8 prompted a special election to fill his unexpired term.

Burns is running in the special election to replace the recently departed Jon Murtha. Meanwhile, he's running in the Republican primary for the regular election in November for the same seat.

That's right. Burns is running two different races for the same seat simultaneously. Adding to the complexity of this is that the Senate has their primary. On the Republican side, Pat Toomey is running unopposed. Meanwhile, the Democrats are having a battle between Sestak and Specter. So, if you can figure out that dynamic, good luck.