GOP chair lamenting Lawrence results

The Rev. William Schaefer, Lawrence County Republican Party Chairman, didn’t have too much to cheer about as election night wore on.

He was at the county government center in New Castle around 10:30 p.m. to check results, because there were none available on the county’s Web site.

Equipment problems had election officials and workers scrambling there, and information was coming out “at a snail’s pace,” he said.

In the 4th District race for a U.S. House seat, Republican Melissa Hart was losing to Democrat incumbent Jason Altmire by about 57 to 43 percent, with more than 60 percent of the precincts reporting.

“The war, the economy, George Bush and his unpopularity,” said Schafer on why Hart, whom Altmire ousted in 2006, was losing her battle.

“We faced it two years ago, four years ago. It’s a miracle for us to hold on to anything.”

A bright spot for Schafer was the 47th District state senate race between Republican Elder Vogel and Democrat Jason Petrella. Vogel was winning 56.6 percent to 43.4 percent. Schafer called Vogel “a man of integrity” and surmised the Bonusgate scandal that embroiled state general assembly Democrats was helping him stay ahead.