In W.Pa’s 17th District, Dem Deluzio reflects on the last day of the campaign

PITTSBURGH – Democratic candidate Chris Deluzio spent Election Day meeting voters at the polls across Pennsylvania’s 17th Congressional District to remind them of his face and name in a race that could go either way.

“I’m saying hello, reminding folks who I am if they have any lingering questions or want to know what’s going on or what I’m about or what my values are,” he explained–”a chance to hear from me directly.”

It’s been a long day of last-minute campaigning.

“We started in Aliquippa and worked our way east through Beaver County into the West Hills of Allegheny County up through the North Hills, went over East [Pittsburgh], Penn Hills, Williamsburg, Edward, Forest Hills. I just voted in Aspinwall, and I’m standing here with you in Green Tree right now,” Deluzio told the Capital-Star. “We’ve really worked our way across the district.”

“We’re hearing good turnout in pretty strong Democratic parts of this district,” he said, which could favor Deluzio in a race that FiveThirtyEight called a “dead heat.”

“What I’ve been feeling at the polls starting at Aliquippa, through right here in Green Tree [in suburban Pittsburgh] is a lot of energy, a lot of enthusiasm for Democrats,” the Iraq war veteran and voting rights lawyer said, “so I think we’re gonna win this thing.”

Though former President Donald Trump cast doubt on the integrity of Pennsylvania’s elections in a rally last Saturday in Latrobe, Pa., Deluzio said he has “great faith in our election systems here.”

“For every ballot cast, you have Democrats and Republican representatives in these polling places in the counties when they’re counting the votes,” he said.

If the count gets too close to call, he added, “We can go to a full manual recount if necessary because we have these paper ballots.

“I’m sure we’ll have a fair outcome,” he added.

Deluzio expected Allegheny County’s mail-in ballot results, which come after in-person ballots have been counted, will be “done pretty shortly after the polls close,” he said, though he didn’t comment about Beaver County, which the redrawn district represents in its entirety.

At the end of the campaign, Deluzio said he and his team are feeling “tired but also energized and excited for tonight and looking forward to a good win.”