Matt Cartwright Wins 17th District Seat

Scranton-area attorney becomes Northampton County's new congressman.

Matt Cartwright, a Scranton area attorney and political newcomer, is Northampton County's newest congressman. Cartwright, a Democrat, will represent Pennsylvania's newly created 17th district, which includes the Easton and Nazareth areas.  With 50 percent of precincts reporting, Cartwright had picked up 63 percent of the vote to Republican challenger Laureen Cummings' 36 percent, according to the Associated Press.  In Northampton County, with 33 percent of precincts reporting, Cartwright was leading Cummings 56 percent to 43 percent, according to unofficial results. Cummings, a nurse and the owner of a home health care service, is the founder of the Scranton Tea Party and had advocated a national sales tax, or "fair tax," during their race…

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Cartwright, Cummings Debate in Bethlehem

Candidates for Pennsylvania's 17th Congressional District discuss health care, fracking and the Tea Party.

Congressional hopefuls Laureen Cummings and Matt Cartwright took questions from reporters, students and each other during their first Lehigh Valley debate Wednesday night. Meeting at PBS 39's studio in South Bethlehem, the two candidates running in a newly created congressional district spoke for about an hour on the economy, energy, Pennsylvania's voter ID law and "divisiveness," a term both candidates threw at each other's party. Democrat Carwright --  an attorney from Moosic -- and Cummings -- a Republican nurse from Old Forge who owns a small nursing company -- are battling to represent Pennsylvania's new 17th Congressional district. They were asked how, as first-time candidates in a new district, they'd get things done in Washington…

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Laureen Cummings Speaks to Local Tea Party

Congressional candidate was scheduled to answer questions with opponent Matt Cartwright, but he was unable to attend.

Friday's big news was the new jobs report, which showed unemployment at its lowest level -- 7.8 percent -- since January 2009. Laureen Cummings, the Republican candidate for Pennsylvnia's 17th Congressional district, is skeptical. "I do not believe that number. I do not trust anything I see in the media today," Cummings told an audience of Lehigh Valley Tea Party members Friday night at the Chrin Community Center in Palmer Township. Cummings was there for what was supposed to be a candidate's forum, where she and Democratic opponent Matt Cartwright would answer questions. A second debate focused on the 15th Congressional District race, where U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent and his Democratic challenger Rick Daughterty answered questions. Event …

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Laureen Cummings: Republican Candidate for 17th Congressional District

Republican Laureen Cummings is seeking election to the redrawn 17th Congressional District seat.

Name: Ms. Laureen Cummings Age : 48 Place of residence : Old Forge, PA Attended college : Yes College : Marywood College, Lackawanna County Area Vocational Technical School Degree : LPN Year of graduation : 1987 Job titles held :  Business owner/nurse Employers : Lorimar Homecare, Old Forge Party affiliation: Republican Running for a: Federal office  Running for position: U.S. Representative Chamber/district: 17th Incumbent: No Previous elective offices : None  Unsuccessful bids for elective offices: U.S. Senate Website : http://www.electlaureencummings.com/ Facebook :  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Laureen-Cummings-for-Congress/103166336482916 Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/@LaureenCummings

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Congressional Candidate Matt Cartwright Campaigns on the Delaware

17th Congressional District Democratic Candidate Matt Cartwright paddled down the Delaware River to Easton to stump for his campaign and the environment.

  On a picture-perfect day made for a canoe ride down the Delaware River and glad-handing at campaign stops, Matt Cartwright, the Democratic candidate for Congress in the newly redrawn 17th District, managed to do both. On Sunday, Cartwright ended a three-day, 30-mile canoe trip down the pristine waters of the Delaware with supporters and members of the Sierra Club at a picnic thrown for him in Scott Park in Easton. There to greet him was Mayor Sal Panto. "Coming to Easton is a huge part of the campaign," said Cartwright, a progressive who unseated 10-term incumbent U.S. Rep. Tim Holden in the Democratic primary in April. Cartwright, a Scranton attorney, said he intended to get know his constituents in the Easton area and work closely with…

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Election 2012

Easton Patch Election Guide

The candidates, incumbents and issues that will be affecting Easton and Northampton County in November's election.

The 2012 Presidential Election is here, Easton Patch is devoted to bringing you the information you need. Here's what you need to know before voting today. National U.S. President In the race to represent U.S. Congress, 17th District, Democrat Matt Cartwright, a Lackawanna County attorney, faces off against Laureen Cummings, a nurse and founder of the Scranton Tea Party. U.S. Senate State  Pennsylvania Attorney General Pennsylvania Auditor General Pennsylvania Treasurer State Rep. Bob Freeman is seeking a seventh consecutive term, but has no opposition for his long-time seat in the 136th district. He represents Easton, as well as Wilson, West Easton, Glendon, Freemansburg and Hellertown, as well as parts of Bethlehem and Lower Saucon …

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Tea Party Candidate, Docs Blast 'Obamacare'

At Bethlehem forum, a congressional candidate, two local doctors and a nurse say ‘Obamacare’ will destroy the health care system.

President Obama’s signature health care law is going to undermine doctor-patient relationships, close hospitals, cripple small businesses and result in rationed care, according to four health care professionals, including a congressional candidate, who spoke at a forum in Bethlehem Wednesday night. The Lehigh Valley Coalition for Health Care Reform, a nonprofit with ties to conservative and physicians groups, presented the two-hour forum at Bethlehem Area Public Library to a sympathetic crowd of about 25. The panel included Laureen Cummings, a Scranton Tea Party founder and the Republican candidate for the redistricted 17th congressional district, currently held by Tim Holden. Cummings, an LPN who owns a home health care agency in Old …

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5 Things to Know About the Holden/Cartwright Race

Democratic primary for 17th district will be decided Tuesday.

On Tuesday, Democratic voters in the Easton area -- as well as numerous other counties -- will decide who they want to represent them in Congress: U.S. Rep. Tim Holden, or challenger Matt Cartwright.  Holden, 55 and from Schuylkill County, has been in Congress for 20 years, but it was only until recently -- due to congressional redistricting -- that his representing the Lehigh Valley was even a possibility.  In addition to the Easton area and much of Northampton County, the new 17th district includes Holden's home county, as well Monroe, Lackwanna, Luzerne and Carbon counties. Cartwright, 50 and from the town of Moosic south of Scranton, is an attorney who has been presented as a more liberal alternative to Holden, who's known as a "Blue …

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SKOOK

9:30 pm on Tuesday, April 24, 2012

I am from Schuylkill County and Tim Holden has done NOTHING for us. I remember Dan Flood and the great things he did - I voted for Matt Cartright!   more ›