Lt. Gov. Fetterman campaigns for Democrat Prah in 58th District

The Democratic candidate to fill the vacant seat in the state House’s 58th District got a boost this weekend from Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor while his two opponents were canvassing in a more low-key manner in the battle to win the March 17 special election.

“We can take Westmoreland (County) back,” Lt. Gov. John Fetterman told about 100 Democratic Party volunteers, many of whom were union members, at the Italian Social Club in Monessen on Saturday

Fetterman urged the campaign volunteers to get out the vote for Robert Prah Jr., 37, of Rostraver in his battle against Republican Eric Davanzo, 43, of South Huntingdon and Libertarian Ken Bach, 52, of South Huntingdon. The overriding theme of the rally was the need to persuade voters to cast their ballots on St. Patrick’s Day.

The special election will decide who will represent for the 58th District for the remainder of the year. The winner will replace former state Rep. Justin Walsh, who resigned in December after winning election in November to be a Westmoreland County Common Pleas judge.

Voters in the district, which stretches from Monessen and North Belle Vernon in the Mon Valley to Hempfield and Jeannette in central Westmoreland County, also will vote in November on the candidate who will represent the 58th for a full two-year term. Both Prah and Davanzo are seeking the two-year term.

The seat was held for 50 years by a Monessen Democrat from 1967, when James J. Manderino, the late House speaker, was elected. Herman Mihalich succeeded Manderino and held the seat until he died in 1997. Former Monessen Mayor Ted Harhai, who succeeded Mihalich, retired in 2016. Walsh beat West Newton Mayor Mary Popovich to win the seat in 2016 for the Republicans.

“This race will come to down to turnout,” Prah said “and we have to get the turnout in Monessen.”

Prah, director of military and veterans affairs at California University of Pennsylvania, told the Democrats he supports funding for public schools and promises to meet with elected officials and community leaders to find solutions to the opioid and suicide crisis.

“I’ve lost too many friends to suicide and too many teammates and friends to the opioid crisis,” said Prah, whose office at Cal U provides support and guidance for active-duty service members, veterans and their families in the university setting.

Davanzo, a union carpenter who lives in the Barren Run section of South Huntingdon, said his message is resonating in the district as he emphasizes the need for quality health care and better jobs. Davanzo, running for political office for the first time, said he is stressing his pro-life and pro-gun positions and “conservative values.” He spent the weekend campaigning in Rostraver.

The GOP is not planning any major campaign events on Davanzo’s behalf before the March 17 election, said Kerry Jobe, chairman of the Westmoreland County Republican Committee. The party is identifying its voters and making sure they cast their ballots, Jobe said.

The rally with Fetterman may work against the Democrats and Prah, Jobe claimed.

“It’s our consensus that the lieutenant governor, with his record, will not resonate with the residents of the 58th District. We think we will be successful because of our consistency knocking on doors, making phone calls and through social media as our aggressive grass roots effort,” Jobe said.

Prah said he is not concerned about a challenge from Bach, running as a Libertarian.

Bach, a member of the Yough School Board, said he is emphasizing the need to eliminate property taxes as the mechanism to fund public schools in the state. Instead, Bach, who spent the weekend campaigning in the Belle Vernon area and Jeannette, said he supports an increase in the sales tax.

Bach is a former Democrat who became a Libertarian after losing the 58th District Democratic Committee’s nomination to be the party’s candidate in the special election. Regardless of whether he wins the special election, Bach said he intends to run for a full two-year term in November.

Fetterman pivoted from talking about the importance of winning the state General Assembly to taking shots at President Trump’s bid for another term in the White House.

“Without Pennsylvania, Donald Trump has no realistic way to 270” electoral college votes to win the presidency, Fetterman said.

It is important for Democrats to support the party’s presidential candidate, regardless of whether that person was their first choice to lead the national ticket.

“Pennsylvania picks the next president. This is the most consequential election of our lifetime,” Fetterman said.