Melissa Hart (politician) - 2006 Election

2006 Election

As the 2006 campaign season approached, Hart's congressional seat was not considered vulnerable, and Hart was described in media accounts as a "rising star" in Republican politics, who had never lost an election and who had demonstrated a unique ability to appeal to non-conservative voters even while maintaining a generally conservative voting record. In late 2005, her predecessor in the House of Representatives, Democrat Ron Klink, publicly mulled over the possibility of challenging Hart for his old seat. However, in late December, Klink announced that he would not run. Jason Altmire, a 38-year-old health care executive and political unknown (and, by coincidence, a neighbor of Hart's brother,) ultimately won the Democratic nomination for the seat.

For most of 2006, the Altmire campaign was viewed as a long shot, but as the campaign wound down his poll numbers surged and Hart's dropped. An October Susquehanna poll showed Hart with what was then a surprisingly narrow 46%-42% lead over Altmire. Altmire's continued to climb as Hart's stalled, and five days before the November 7, 2006 election, the Cook Political Report altered its rating of the race from "Likely Republican" to "Toss up."

On Election Day, Altmire was elected by a margin of 52%-48%.

Hart's was part of a generalized Republican meltdown in Pennsylvania that saw the defeat of three other incumbent Republican members of Congress, Democratic victories for the U. S. Senate and governor, and Democratic gains in the state legislature.

Following the election, she returned to the law firm Keevican Weiss Bauerle & Hirsch, where she had worked before being elected to Congress. She returned to her specialization of "general practice and business development."