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January 2nd , 2024 Len’s Political Note #611 Chris Deluzio Pennsylvania 17
2024 General Election
According to Daily Kos’s list of vulnerable Democrats, Chris Deluzio is #19. According to Len’s List, he is #34.
Chris Deluzio began life with advantages that made him a little less vulnerable than most to the vicissitudes of life. His parents were not national level aristocrats, but they were prosperous.
His dad shifted from being a partner in one, then another Pennsylvania law firm before founding a health care management firm. The legal work and the management firm made the family prosperous enough so that Chris Deluzio’s dad served on hospital boards and the board of the Pittsburgh opera. Chris Deluzio’s mom devoted her time to volunteer activities such as the Holy Family Institute.
Chris Deluzio extended those advantages largely on his own. He went to Bishop Canevin High School which tells us that 98% of its students go on to a four-year college. Chris Deluzio went to the Naval Academy and was commissioned as an active-duty surface warfare officer. He had three deployments including one in Iraq. After Iraq, he went to Georgetown Law School – completing his JD and finding a wife who was also a student there. When they married, she was an associate in a New York City law firm.
Chris Deluzio completed a clerkship and then went to work for the Brennan Center for Justice in New York City. His focus was on voting rights and election security. The Brennan Center experience set him on a path to academia. That path brought him home to Pittsburgh. In 2018, the year after Pitt Cyber was established, he joined that multidisciplinary center at the University of Pittsburgh. Pitt Cyber trained students, conducted research, and consulted with business and industry on issues that connected the practical world with the hi-tech world of cyber.
Chris Deluzio became the political beneficiary of changing circumstance in Pennsylvania’s 17th Congressional District. In 2018, the Republican Congressman resigned after it became public that he had a mistress and that he had urged her to get an abortion. Conor Lamb, a former prosecutor and former Marine, won the special election in an upset. He won again in November, 2018 in the Court-ordered redistricted 17th District and joined the group of military-oriented Democrats in Congress who were part of the Democratic wave of 2018.
In 2022, Conor Lamb chose to run for the US Senate in Pennsylvania. He lost in the primary to now Senator John Fetterman. Chris Deluzio took advantage of the opening and was elected to Congress.
Were there lines of attack against Chris Deluzio the Republicans found and will use again in 2024? Once, apparently, Chris Deluzio donated to an organization that newly elected Pennsylvanian, African American Congresswomen Summer Lee spoke to. Republicans claim Lee has proposed defunding the police. As best I can tell, she did not make that proposal. She did propose revising police procedures to make police shootings less likely. Chris Deluzio might support efforts to make police shootings less likely. He certainly did not share Summer Lee’s call for a ceasefire in Israel and “occupied Palestine.” Chris Deluzio condemned the October 7th attack and stressed that the US “stands with Israel.”
Unlike Summer Lee, Chris Deluzio was not a prospect to join the Squad. In Congress, he is serving on committees that a military veteran would be expected to serve on. He is on the Veterans Affairs Committee where he is Vice Ranking Member. He is on the Armed Services Committee where, as a navy veteran, he is on the Sea Power Subcommittee and, as an expert on technology legal issues, on the Cyber Subcommittee.
In his one term in Congress in addition to his expressed support of Israel and Ukraine, Chris Deluzio has established himself as a labor guy. He voted to support expanding collective bargaining rights and introduced a bill to tighten train safety after the crash in East Palestine, Ohio. He was a Bernie Sanders delegate at the 2020 National Democratic Convention and advocates for Medicare for All. Medicare for All? Is that enough for Republicans to claim he is a socialist?
Currently, there is only one Republican in the race for Pennsylvania’s 17the Congressional District. State Rep Robert Mercuri may not have a primary opponent. The Koch-brothers funded Superpac has committed itself to him. Mercuri is a West Point graduate who was deployed to Iraq. Returned home, he studied accounting at UMass Amherst and worked for large New York City accounting firms. Returned to the Pittsburgh area, he and his wife opened their own accounting firm. Mercuri was elected as a state representative in 2020.
Mercuri’s Congressional campaign website touts him as a dad and small business owner. His campaign website and his office website say nothing about his views except to refer to the values of his blue-collar upbringing that include “integrity, hard work, and transparency.” In one interview, he declined to say whether or not he still supports Donald Trump. He said he wanted to focus on local issues. Attempting to achieve that local focus, Mercuri deleted all previous mentions of his anti-abortion views from the website and other instruments of the campaign. Democrats recall, though, that as a state rep, Mercuri had supported a constitutional amendment to ban all abortions.
Mercuri has spoken up about one issue. He criticized Chris Deluzio’s proposed Railway Safety Act, created in response to the derailment of a Norfolk Southern train in East Palestine, Ohio. Koch-funded FreedomWorks has criticized the proposal for its proposed increased oversight by the Department of Transportation. The proposal would give a “struggling agency unimaginable authority.” Count on Robert Mercuri to take positions similar to those of the Koch brothers.
Mercuri had a previous primary opponent. Republican African American pastor Jim Nelson withdrew from the race saying that Mercuri’s right wing views might get him nominated, but would hurt him in the general election. Mercuri entered October with $150,000 for his campaign. That is not much for a tough campaign, though Chris Deluzio had only $700,000. That is a small figure for an incumbent. DONATE TO CHRIS DELUZIO. Make him seem inevitable. Discourage Mercuri and his supporters. More funds can make a difference.
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The Northeast has a bunch of Vulnerable Republicans to target. Should New York redistrict, the Republicans in that state could be even more vulnerable. Fewer Democrats are vulnerable, but there are enough to make the entire northeast a battleground.
George Santos NY 03 has been expelled from the House. The special election to replace him is scheduled for February 13. Former Congressman, Tom Suozzi is the Democratic nominee. The Republicans have been slower in picking a nominee. DONATE TO TOM SUOZZI. Get him out ahead of the game.
Inc Democrat Jahana Hayes CT 05 is #3 on Len’s List of Vulnerable Democrats in the House; she is tied for #11 on Daily Kos’s List. She will be opposed by her 2022 opponent former State Senator George Logan who she defeated in a very close race. Jahana Hayes had $900,000 on October 1; Logan had a negligible amount. DONATE TO JAHANA HAYES. Keep her far enough ahead of Logan so a competitive campaign seems implausible. See Len’s Political Note #541
Mike Lawler NY 17 is #4 on Len’s List of Vulnerable Republicans in the House. He is #2 on Daily Kos’s List. Former Congressman Mondaire Jones will be the Democratic nominee. Mike Lawler entered October with $2 Million; Mondaire Jones began with $850,000. DONATE TO MONDAIRE JONES. If he catches up, he wins. See: Len’s Political Note #579
Inc Democrat Pat Ryan is #5 on Len’s List of Vulnerable Democrats in the House. He is #8 on Daily Kos’s List. Two Republicans have announced their candidacies. Neither had any money on October 1. Pat Ryan had $1.6 Million. DONATE TO PAT RYAN. More will allow him to intimidate those opponents. See Len’s Political Note #545
Inc Democrat Susan Wild PA 07 is #6 on Len’s List of Vulnerable Democrats in the House. She is #5 on Daily Kos’s List. Only State Rep Ryan McKenzie had more than $100,000 on October 1. Susan Wild had $1.1 Million. DONATE TO SUSAN WILD Keep her far enough ahead to discourage Republican donors and the Republican candidates. See Len’s Political Note #546
Brandon Williams NY 22 is #6 on Len’s List of Vulnerable Republicans in the House. He is tied for #4 on Daily Kos’s List. Recent confrontations with former staffers have only made him more vulnerable. Previous candidate Sara Klee Hood was the first Democrat to announce for the nomination and is a likely, but not certain nominee. Sara Klee Hood had $250,000 on October 1; the incumbent had a relatively low $850,000. If Sara Klee Hood catches up to Williams, she wins. DONATE TO SARA KLEE HOOD. See Len’s Political Note #557
Inc Democrat Matt Cartwright PA 08 Is #7 on Len’s List of Vulnerable Democrats in the House. He is tied for #3 on Daily Kos’s List. Businessman Rob Bresnahan is the only Republican to announce and he reported having raised no money. Matt Cartwright is prepared and had $1.4 million on October 1. DONATE TO MATT CARTWRIGHT. Keep him far enough ahead to discourage Republican donors and the Republican candidate. See Len’s Political Note #547
Mike Molinaro NY 19 is #9 on Len’s List of Vulnerable Republicans in the House. He is tied at #7 on Daily Kos’s List. Josh Riley will be the Democratic nominee. He is closing in financially with $1 Million on October 1. The incumbent was leading with $1.3 Million. Josh Riley can flip this seat if he raises more than the incumbent. DONATE TO JOSH RILEY See Len’s Political Note #580
Tom Kean Jr NJ 07 is #14 on both Len’s List and Daily Kos’s List of Vulnerable Republicans in the House. Sue Altman is the probable Democratic nominee. On October 1, she had $350,000 available for her campaign. The incumbent had nearly $1.8 million. DONATE TO SUE ALTMAN. Help her catch up to the incumbent. See Len’s Political Note #578.
Anthony D’Esposito NY 04 is #15 on Len’s List of Vulnerable Republicans in the House and tied for #4 in Daily Kos’s List. Laura Gillen is the probable Democratic nominee. On October 1 she had $400,000 available for her campaign. The incumbent had $1.1Million. DONATE TO LAURA GILLEN She does not have that far to go to catch up. See Len’s Political Note #596
Inc Democrat Jared Golden ME 02 is #17 on Len’s List of Vulnerable Democrats in the House; #10 on Daily Kos’s List. His probable opponent is State Rep Austin Theriault, a former NASCAR driver. On October 1, Jared Golden had just under $900,000 available; his probable opponent had less than $50,000. DONATE TO JARED GOLDEN Discourage his probable opponent and his supporters. See: Len’s Political Note #575
Scott Perry PA 10 is #23 on Len’s List of Vulnerable Republicans in the House. 2022 candidate Shamaine Daniels was the first to announce and I wrote a note on her behalf. Her fund raising has been inadequate. Veteran and Aviation Instructor Mike O’Brien nearly $140,000 on October 1. The incumbent had a small number for an incumbent – less than $550,000. DONATE TO SHAMAINE DANIELS or to MIKE O’BRIEN. Few Republicans are more worthy of defeat that Scott Perry. See Len’s Political Note #559 about Shamaine Daniels.
