— This much is clear: William Russell is tenacious.

Just don’t call him “bitter.”

The Upper Yoder Township Republican, in his second attempt at winning the 12th Congressional District seat, is again getting no support from his party.

But while he makes no secret about his dissatisfaction with GOP leadership, Russell insists that it’s not anger that has motivated him to stay in the race.

“The best way to overcome this is not to be bitter, but to set about winning the primary,” Russell said.

The career Army man, now retired, moved to Johnstown to launch what some initially considered a quixotic run against powerful Democrat John Murtha in 2008.

But Russell’s campaign proved surprisingly strong, prompting Murtha to declare at one point late in the election season that he had been “blindsided” by the Republican.

Russell ended up with 42 percent of the vote despite the fact, he says, that he received no support from state GOP leadership and “very, very little” from the national Republican Party.

The night of his loss in November 2008, Russell immediately declared that he would run again.

Fellow Republican Tim Burns of Washington County also jumped into the race last year, setting up a primary battle.

But everything changed

Feb. 8, when Murtha died due to surgical complications. Little more than a month later, Burns was chosen as his party’s candidate for the May 18 special election that will decide who fills the remainder of Murtha’s unexpired term.

So it is Burns who is the sole GOP representative on the special ballot. It is Burns who is perceived to have a great advantage over Russell on the primary ballot.

And it is Burns who has become the party’s sole focus, much to Russell’s chagrin.

“People are very, very angry with our party leadership in terms of how the choice for the special election was made,” Russell said.

He maintains that there was pressure put on party leaders from the district’s nine counties to choose conferees who would vote for Burns at the March 11 meeting in Latrobe.

In fact, Russell goes so far as to say “there was a lot of coercion” – meaning direct pressure placed on the conferees who voted 85-46 to nominate Burns.

Johnstown businessman Rob Gleason, who chairs both the Cambria County and state Republican committees, dismisses those accusations.

“We had a very transparent, open process,” Gleason said.

“(Russell) didn’t get enough votes to get the nomination. I don’t know of anybody who

was coerced.”

Gleason added that he is not “overly concerned” about a divided party, saying he believes Burns “has really turned out to be the ideal candidate for us.”

Russell does not buy that and has plunged ahead at full speed.

He says he has been campaigning for this seat since November 2007, “building relationships and loyalties with people.”

There is no doubt that his fundraising efforts have not faltered.

Russell blew away the other 12th district candidates by raising $737,365 in the first quarter, according to Federal Election Commission reports. He also far outpaced the others in spending, running through $638,394 while Burns spent only $57,574 in the same three-month period.

Russell says he has 60,000 donors nationwide and 5,000 in the 12th district, with most making small contributions averaging $75.

“It’s not the party apparatus, it’s not the (political action committees),” Russell said, “it’s not that I’m a millionaire who can put money into it.”

He added that his campaign has more than 1,000 volunteers in the district.

What those numbers will translate into on election day remains to be seen. Russell is a staunch conservative who says his military background has given him “a very good understanding of military-policy and national-security issues.”

He also believes his status as a GOP outsider could help him win votes.

“I’m the only candidate who has shown himself to be truly independent of the party leadership,” Russell said. “I will be accountable only to the voters.”