D. Raja Wins GOP Nod in 37th District

Mt. Lebanon business owner on Tuesday won the Republican nomination for the Pennsylvania 37th Senatorial District seat being vacated by Sen. John Pippy, according to unofficial results. The district includes .

Raja defeated two other candidates——to win his party's nomination with more than 40 percent of the vote.

Raja is now officially an unchallenged nominee for November's general election ballot, as no candidates from opposing parties, including no Democrats, ran in April 24's primary.

Raja and his supporters gathered at the Crowne Plaza Pittsburgh South hotel in Bethel Park on Tuesday night to celebrate.

"Tomorrow is when the real work begins," Raja said when speaking about a Pleasant Hills Borough Democrat, Greg Parks, who is planning to run against him as a write-in candidate in November. "I was thinking we were going to have tonight to celebrate, but it looks like we're going to head into a general election."

Raja, a former Mt. Lebanon commissioner, lost to Democrat Rich Fitzgerald last year  to become the chief executive of Allegheny County.

Raja owns the software firm Computer Enterprises, Inc., and during his campaigns, frequently railed against what he called steep corporate taxes in Pennsylvania. 

He said that, if elected, he would not accept a state pension and would push Harrisburg lawmakers to adopt a 401(k) plan. 

Raja called his bid for the state Senate nomination "the toughest race" he has waged.

Mustio, with about 25 percent of the vote, came in third place behind Means, who drew around 31 percent. Means and Mustio could not be reached for comment.

"We congratulate the Raja campaign," Mustio spokesman Ryan O'Barto, a graduate, said. "We had a hard-fought campaign, and we are really proud of what we accomplished.

"Mark had a lot of support in his home district, and he looks forward to continuing to represent it."

Mustio came under fire in recent days after his campaign distributed literature accusing Raja, a native of India, of outsourcing jobs to that country. The as a result of the fliers, which also bore an image of the flag of India.

The backlash prompted Mustio to pull the ads last week and call for "a degree of decorum and respect" in the race. 

Mustio, a former Moon Township supervisor, had been endorsed by both Pippy as well as the Moon Township Republican Commitee.

Allegheny County Councilman Matt Drozd, whose district includes Moon, said that the negative campaign ads hurt rather than helped Mustio's campaign. 

"I think that had a lot to do with it; I do," said Drozd, who joined supporters at Raja's victory party. "People are just so tired of the negative campaigning. They want to hear what you're going to do for them and what kind of candidate you are. People have just lost faith in their government."

Mustio, however, did walk away from Tuesday's primary with one win. He is seeking re-election in his state House district, and he drew 96 percent of the vote there while running unopposed for the Republican nomination.

He will now face Democrat Mark Scappe, a former president of the , in the general election for the state House's 44th District. Scappe also ran unopposed in Tuesday's primary. 

Pippy, who called Raja to congratulate him onTuesday night, plans to retire from Harrisburg politics at this end of his term.

"You were all here when no one believed in me," Raja said. "With your support, we'll go to Harrisburg."

This article originally appeared on the .

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