Matthew Good steps up to fill House vacancy

ERIE, Pa. (AP) -- An aide to a Republican state lawmaker who died in May has won a special election to fill the vacancy in the state House of Representatives.
Republican Matthew Good won 71 percent of the vote earlier this week to defeat Democrat Brian McGrath and Green Party candidate Larry Sawdy for the Third District seat in Erie County previously held by Rep. Karl W. Boyes, the Erie Times-News reported, citing unofficial results.
Boyes, 67, died of an aneurysm May 11. He had served in the House for 22 years.
"We can be proud of the work we have done on this campaign, and Karl Boyes would be proud as well," said Good, 28, who is expected to be sworn in next month.
Erie County has close to an even number of Republican and Democratic registered voters.
Rep. Brett Feese, chairman of the House Republican Campaign Committee, called Good's victory in a district where Republican and Democratic voter registration is about even as a referendum on Gov. Ed Rendell's proposals to boost education funding and economic development in part by raising a range of taxes.
"When we polled [voters] early on, the results told us there was very little support for the governor's vision, particularly in terms of the tax package," said Feese, R-Lycoming.
Rendell's spokeswoman, Kate Philips, disagreed.
"I would say that the governor's election [in November] was a statewide referendum in which nearly 2 million people voted for his vision for Pennsylvania," she said.
With Good's election, the House has 109 Republicans and 94 Democrats. Four special elections have been held this year to fill House vacancies, and Republicans have won all four.