HARRISBURG, Pa., Nov. 7 (UPI) -- Two scandal-tainted Republican congressmen from Pennsylvania, Curt Weldon and Don Sherwood, conceded defeat Tuesday.
Former Navy Vice Admiral Joe Sestak ousted the 10-term incumbent Weldon in the 7th District in the Philadelphia suburbs. Sestak, a career Navy officer who served in a policy position in the Clinton administration, was making his first bid for elective office.
Weldon, in trouble because of public discontent with the Iraq War and his reputation for conspiracy theories, got a devastating blow weeks before the election. Voters learned that he was under investigation for using his position to steer business to his daughter's consulting firm.
In the 10th District in rural northeastern Pennsylvania, Democrat Chris Carney, a professor of political science, defeated four-term incumbent Don Sherwood.
Sherwood was in trouble because of allegations that he physically assaulted his longtime girlfriend. The married congressman admitted the affair but denied the assault.
Two races in the Philadelphia suburbs were too close to call Tuesday night. Democrats Lois Murphy and Patrick Murphy were trying to oust incumbent Republicans Jim Gerlach and Mike Fitzpatrick in the 6th and 8th districts.
