The death of U.S. Rep. John Murtha will set off a flurry of political activity, including a special election to fill the 12th Congressional District seat.

But it was unclear on Monday when that election will happen, as party leaders and Gov. Ed Rendell struggled to come to terms with the death of a colleague.

“I haven’t had time to look at this at all,” Rendell said Monday afternoon in a conference call with reporters.

It will be up to Rendell to set a special election in which voters would choose someone to serve the remainder of the Johnstown Democrat’s unexpired term, which runs through the end of the year.

Citing cost concerns, Rendell said he was unsure whether such an election should be held before the May primary. The governor also said he would solicit input from congressional leaders.

But he declined to speculate further, saying “this is not the day for that.”

The process of selecting one Republican and one Democrat for a special election would begin in the 12th Congressional District Murtha had represented for 36 years.

Mary Isenhour, executive director of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, said Democratic committee members within the district would make a recommendation to the state committee’s executive board.

That board chooses a Democratic candidate.

The process works a little differently on the GOP side. Michael Barley, spokesman for the Republican Party of Pennsylvania, said a candidate for the special election would be chosen at a meeting of Republican representatives from within the 12th district.

At that meeting, prospective candidates will make their case to “conferees” representing each county in the district.

“(Potential candidates) come and present why they think they should run and answer questions from the conferees,” Barley said. “Whoever is nominated at that meeting is the candidate.”

Aside from the special election process, there’s also this year’s regularly scheduled primary and general elections that will determine who takes the 12th Congressional District seat in January 2011.

Murtha had intended to run again. Two

Republicans and two Democrats had said they would challenge. But the longtime lawmaker’s death likely will bring many additional contenders from both parties for the May 18 primary election.

For the most part, Murtha had easily defeated all comers throughout his career. Now, the field will be wide open in a district that spreads all the way to the state’s southwest corner.

“They will be coming out of the woodwork,” said Ed Cernic Sr. of West Taylor Township, a Democrat and political insider who has supported candidates of both parties.

However, Fred R. Smith, Cambria County election supervisor, cautioned that the cost of a congressional election could discourage some potential candidates.

“Even when Mr. Murtha had no primary challenge, he still spent $350,000,” Smith said.

Robert A. Gleason Jr., the Cambria County and state Republican chairman, agreed that economics could dampen the field.

“It may be daunting,” Gleason said. “It could cost $1.5 million to run. We will probably have a special election and a general election, so it could cause a lot of confusion and difficulty.”

Gleason added that a lot of people “who have been waiting in the wings to run and not wanting to run against Murtha will run in the primary and seek the special election nomination.”

Helen Whiteford, Cambria County Democratic chairwoman, said Murtha “represented the entire district, not just Cambria County. He had lot of broad-based support, including labor.”

County Democrats, she said, will be looking for a candidate who can deliver for the district as Murtha has done through the years.

No matter which candidates wind up seeking the office in the special, primary and general

elections, there is no doubt that there will be

plenty of political campaigning in the coming months.

“It will be a complicated situation,” said U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Hollidaysburg.