It was a horse race right up to the end.
When it was over, Democrat Bryan Barbin won the area’s closest contest, beating Republican Jim Rigby by 250 votes for the state House.
With all 67 precincts reporting, Barbin edged Rigby 12,193 to 11,943 to represent the Greater Johnstown region in Harrisburg.
That total will change as absentee ballots are counted. But Barbin said he is confident the numbers would stand.
Barbin said he ran an issues-based campaign.
“No matter what anyone else tells you – whether it’s the Democratic Party or the Republican Party – you can run a clean campaign on the issues and win,” he said. “I would like to thank Jim for running a clean campaign.”
His supporters gathered at Ace’s Lounge in Johnstown’s Cambria City neighborhood.
“I could not do it without the volunteers who have been here for over 11 months,” Barbin said. “They believed in me.”
Barbin and Rigby campaigned to bring jobs to the 71st Legislative District.
Barbin has said his focus is on creating “family-sustaining jobs” by reviving the region’s steel and coal industries.
The two battled to replace retiring state Rep. Ed Wojnaroski, D-Johnstown, in a 14-municipality district that includes the financially distressed city of Johnstown.
Barbin, of Westmont, has a quarter-century of legal experience and is the fourth generation of his family to practice law here.
He switched from Republican to Democrat in 2006.
Rigby has no state experience but is heavily involved in local government. In Ferndale Borough, he has been a councilman for 16 years, a police officer for 24 years and a member of the volunteer fire company for three decades.
Rigby was unavailable for comment.
Rigby said in March he no longer was seeking the nomination but did not remove his name from the primary ballot and defeated Steve Ettien of Richland Township.
Politics
Related Photos
-
Todd Berkey
Discussion
Barbin squeaks by Rigby in 71st
- Politics
-
-
DeWeese says he will resign when sentenced
A Democratic state lawmaker who has been convicted on corruption charges said today he will follow tradition and step down from the House of Representatives when he is sentenced, but that he hopes to delay the proceeding so he can run for re-election.
-
Highlights of Gov. Corbett's state spending plan
Read on to see a bulleted list of Gov. Tom Corbett’s $27.1 billion state spending plan for the year that starts July 1.
-
Pa. gas drilling fee bill debate ends without vote
Pennsylvania, the only major gas-producing state that does not tax the taking of natural gas from its soil, moved closer Tuesday to imposing a fee on the drilling in the vast Marcellus Shale reserves that have transformed the state in recent years.
-
$27.1B budget proposed
Gov. Tom Corbett on Tuesday proposed a budget of $27.1 billion, with no tax increases, deep cuts to higher education assistance and a range of cost-cutting in services for the poor, elderly and disabled.
-
Universities face steep cuts
State universities still trying to recover from deep cuts last year would have their public funding slashed even further under a budget plan unveiled Tuesday, leading some institutions to warn of a choice between maintaining buildings and offering academic programs students need to graduate.
-
Plan hurts middle class, local Democrats contend
While members of his own party praised Gov. Tom Corbett’s fiscal restraint, some local Democratic lawmakers said the Republican’s proposed budget panders to corporate interests while inflicting pain on the middle class.
-
Santorum: Country 'is in jeopardy'
Rick Santorum’s campaign slogan could very well be one word: doomsday. ... Unless, of course, Republicans pick Santorum as the party’s presidential nominee and he goes on to defeat President Barack Obama.
-
Gingrich storms to SC victory, scrambling GOP race
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich stormed to an upset victory in the South Carolina primary Saturday night, dealing a sharp setback to former front-runner Mitt Romney and abruptly scrambling the race for the Republican presidential nomination.
In victory, Gingrich praised his Republican rivals and attacked President Barack Obama and "elites in New York and Washington."
-
AP source: Obama campaign seeks ad rates in states
President Barack Obama's re-election campaign has requested advertising rates in a number of key states, a sign that it could be close to airing its first television commercials of the 2012 race.
-
Santorum accuses pro-Romney 'henchmen' of lying in S.C.
Republican Rick Santorum complained bitterly Monday that a political action committee that supports presidential rival Mitt Romney is lying about his record. He called on Romney, the front-runner in the nomination race, to ask the group to edit or remove its advertisements from the air before Saturday’s pivotal primary in South Carolina.
- More Politics Headlines
-
Denver's Largest-Ever Drug Bust Nets Dozens
Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag
Vets Look to Translate Military Skills Into Jobs
Expert: Removing LA School's Staff 'Appropriate'
Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames
LA School Reopens Amid Sex Abuse Scandal
$25B Settlement Reached Over Foreclosure Abuses
Pentagon: Allow Women Closer to Front Lines
Obama Gives Education Waivers to 10 States
Giffords Aide to Run for Her Seat
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Winter Slamming North Asia, Parts of Europe
Syrian Forces Renew Bombardment of Homs
States, Banks Reach Foreclosure-abuse Settlement
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
Raw Video: U.S. Pullout Celebration
Raw Video: Annual Empire State Building Run-Up
Man Killed in Courthouse Shootout
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
