JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (AP) — The wife of the late congressman John Murtha will not run to finish the


JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (AP) — The wife of the late congressman John Murtha will not run to finish the term of the House seat that he held nearly four decades.

The Murtha for Congress Committee said in an e-mail Monday Joyce Murtha feels it’s “too soon after his death to be on the campaign trail.”

A special election to fill the rest of Murtha’s term will be on Pennsylvania’s May 18 primary. Murtha died Feb. 8 after complications from gallbladder surgery.

Democrats running include former Pennsylvania treasurer Barbara Hafer, former lieutenant governor Mark Singel and Cambria County Controller Ed Cernic Jr.

Prospective Republican candidates include William Russell, who unsuccessfully challenged Murtha in 2008, and Eighty Four businessman Tim Burns.

Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.