Republican Murphy outspends and defeats O’Donnell in landslide

Republican Rep. Tim Murphy beat Democratic candidate Steve O’Donnell in a landside victory… Republican Rep. Tim Murphy beat Democratic candidate Steve O’Donnell in a landside victory yesterday. The candidates fought for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, where one of them would represent Pennsylvania’s 18th District. Murphy will continue to represent sections of Allegheny, Beaver, Washington and Westmoreland counties and will focus on issues including taxes, health care, energy and jobs with others in Congress, his Web site said. Eddie Grimes, the judge of election at the Wallace Memorial UP Church in Greentree, an area in South Hills in Pittsburgh, said he would not be surprised by the outcome of this election. ‘Tim Murphy has done a lot for the community,’ he said. ‘He ‘s been visible in the community and has always made himself available.’ ‘He had one of the best TV commercials I’ve seen,’ he added. ‘He was more positive than O’Donnell, but he did throw some dirt around.’ That dirt, said Steve O’Donnell, was one of the contributing factors to his loss in the election. O’Donnell said he believed that Murphy ‘harmed democracy by running a dirty campaign’ and prided himself on having integrity throughout his own. ‘The manner of Tim Murphy’s campaign was very different,’ he said. ‘I felt I ran with truth and accuracy. I can’t say the same for my opponent.’ ‘We didn’t run a dirty campaign. We didn’t go to the gutter,’ he added. O’Donnell said the major contributing factor to the loss was that Murphy outspent O’Donnell 10-1 on campaigning. Monroeville Mayor Gregory Erosenko agreed with O’Donnell. ‘The man spent over $1 million on TV ads,’ he said. ‘How do you compete with that? It’s virtually impossible.’ Grimes, along with other workers at Wallace Memorial’s polling station, said O’Donnell had little presence in the community and wasn’t very well known. ‘I know nothing about him,’ he said. ‘I don’t think I’ve even seen a commercial by him.’ Grimes said he only knew about the monetary troubles that Murphy presented in his commercials about O’Donnell. ‘The only thing I remember about him was an interview that I saw where he was saying that his private life had been unfairly presented,’ he added. Erosenko said that Democrats don’t have too much to complain about. ‘This an extremely great day for all of us Democrats,’ he said. ‘I’m extremely happy, despite my friend’s loss.’ Steve O’Donnell, along with fellow Democrats celebrating in Monroeville, Pa., found an upside after running against Murphy in this election, though. ‘I think Obama will be a great president of integrity and one who represents all Americans, not just a select few. I’m excited to see what change will happen.’ ‘I’m so proud to be on a slate with Obama and all the other Democrats that ran this year,’ he added. ‘That will be mine forever. Not everybody can say they’ve gotten a shout-out from Joe Biden and were on the ticket with Barack Obama. I can tell my grandkids about this someday, and that is a great feeling.’ Murphy and his campaign did not respond to inquiries.