A pair of Republicans are seeking their party’s nomination to try to unseat incumbent U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio in November.
The GOP race in the 17th Congressional District features Beaver County Sheriff Tony Guy of Hopewell and Robinson’s Jesse James Vodvarka, who manages a family-owned manufacturing firm that makes springs and wire forms.
The district includes all of Beaver County and part of Allegheny County, including portions of the North, West and South Hills and the Alle-Kiski Valley.
Deluzio, who is seeking a third term in Washington, is unopposed in the Democratic primary.
Primary election day is Tuesday, May 19.
Guy, a former state trooper, has been sheriff of Beaver County for the past decade. Vodvarka has attempted to run for Congress in the past, but this is the first time he has made it onto the ballot.
“Everything I have done in law enforcement has prepared me for the next step, and I have been through this (political process) before, so I know what it takes to win a race,” Guy said in a phone interview with TribLive.
“If voters send me to Washington, I’m going to bring common sense with me,” Vodvarka told TribLive. “I’m a working man, not an attorney. I’ll work for the people and then I’ll go back to making springs.”
If elected, Guy said his top priorities would be working to bring more jobs to Southwestern Pennsylvania, enhance public safety, eliminate what he called unnecessary spending and “unleashing energy dominance.”
“We have 100 years of energy (natural gas) literally under our feet that will not only bring jobs to Southwestern Pennsylvania, but also bring opportunities for wealth here,” said Guy, 65. He pointed to a project in Beaver County’s Shippingport where developers are converting a former coal-fired power plant to a natural gas-powered plant and plan to build up to three data centers on the site in a multibillion-dollar project.
“We need more pro-growth policies that empower small businesses to do what they do best — create jobs and grow our economy,” he said. He would like to see Washington ease regulations that he said inhibit many small businesses from succeeding and growing.
When asked why he’s running for office, Vodvarka said, “I want to continue with the trade policies President Trump has started. Trump is the first president in my lifetime that wasn’t a globalist. What he has done for manufacturing has been a blessing for us. He needs allies in Congress to support that agenda, and I’d like to be one of them.”
Vodvarka, 43, noted that one of his company’s Germany-based suppliers recently informed him that, because of those policies, it intends to move production from China to the United States.
“Trump’s policies are actually bringing jobs back to America, and those are the policies that I want to support.”
Among other priorities, Vodvarka said he wants to limit members of Congress to serving three terms in office; end no-excuse, mail-in voting; require schools to teach students about the U.S. Constitution and American history starting in first grade; and ease the tax burden for certain groups, from eliminating property taxes for those 65 and older and waiving income taxes on those making under $40,000 a year.
To make up revenue lost from those taxes, Vodvarka said, “I think there’s a lot of waste and abuse in the system in general. If you start to go through the budget, I think there’s a lot of money there that could be cut and make up for (the lost revenue).”
Guy has a sizable fundraising advantage over Vodvarka.
Guy’s campaign has raised nearly $55,000 and spent almost $12,000 this election cycle, according to Federal Election Commission records. The campaign had nearly $43,000 in available cash as of April 29.
“We are building resources, and those resources really are going to multiply once we get through this primary,” Guy said. “With redistricting that has occurred in a lot of other states, there are less and less competitive races across the country, and this is one of them. I think this can be a competitive race and attract some attention (from donors).”
Vodvarka’s campaign has raised $10,100, with $10,000 of that coming from a loan Vodvarka gave to his campaign, and it has spent about $7,100, according to the FEC. The campaign had nearly $3,000 in available cash as of April 29.
The unopposed Deluzio’s campaign had $922,000 in available cash as of April 29, according to the FEC.