Editing Curt Weldon (section)

==Congressional campaigns==
=== 1984–2004 ===
Weldon first ran for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives for the 7th district of Pennsylvania in 1984 on the Republican ticket, losing to incumbent Democrat [[Robert W. Edgar]] by just 412 votes even as [[Ronald Reagan]] carried the district by over 20 points. However, Edgar did not seek re-election in 1986 but instead ran for the U.S. Senate against [[Arlen Specter]]. Weldon then ran again for Edgar's seat in 1986 and won with a comfortable margin.

Weldon's margin for re-election grew considerably since 1986, handily defeating Democratic opponents even as Delaware County, once a classic [[Rockefeller Republican]] bastion, became friendlier to Democrats at the national level. In 2000, for instance, he was re-elected with 65% of the vote even though Democratic presidential candidate [[Al Gore]] won Delaware County with 54% of the vote.

In 2004, Weldon won with 59% of the vote. By contrast, Democratic presidential candidate [[John Kerry]] got 53% of the district's vote that year. Weldon's Democratic opponent, Paul Scoles, spent $24,000 running against the nine-term incumbent;<ref name="CQP">Greg Giroux, [http://www.cqpolitics.com/2006/07/pa_7_superb_fundraising_gives.html "PA 7: Superb Fundraising Gives Sestak a Shot Against Weldon"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060830171013/http://www.cqpolitics.com/2006/07/pa_7_superb_fundraising_gives.html |date=2006-08-30 }}, [[CQPolitics.com]], July 20, 2006</ref> in that 2003–2004 election cycle, Weldon received nearly $900,000 in campaign contributions.<ref>William Bender, [http://www.delcotimes.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=15881738&BRD=1675&PAG=461&dept_id=18171&rfi=8 "Lentz rips Weldon for taking contributions from Abramoff"]{{dead link|date=August 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, ''Delaware County Times'', January 6, 2006</ref> Scoles entered the race in the last 90 days of the campaign, when the original Democratic candidate, Greg Philips, was called up for Reserve duty to support the [[Iraq War]].

=== 2006 ===
{{Main|Pennsylvania 7th congressional district election, 2006}}

Weldon's Democratic opponent in 2006 was [[Joe Sestak]], a Vice-Admiral who retired earlier in the year after a 31-year military career. According to the ''Delaware County Daily Times'', Sestak proved to be a capable fundraiser and had raised more money than Weldon.<ref>William Bender, [http://www.delcotimes.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=17280041&BRD=1675&PAG=461&dept_id=18171&rfi=8 "Sestak's coffers continue to grow"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070313030526/http://www.delcotimes.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=17280041&BRD=1675&PAG=461&dept_id=18171&rfi=8 |date=March 13, 2007 }}, ''Delaware County Daily Times'', October 4, 2006</ref>

In July, CQPolitics changed their rating on the race from "Republican Favored" to the more competitive "Leans Republican."<ref name="CQP"/> On October 13, 2006, CQPolitics once again changed their rating on the race, from "Leans Republican" to "No Clear Favorite."<ref>Greg Giroux, [http://www.cqpolitics.com/2006/10/navy_vet_sestak_coming_closer.html "Navy Vet Sestak Coming Closer to Sinking Weldon in Pa. 7"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061027143218/http://www.cqpolitics.com/2006/10/navy_vet_sestak_coming_closer.html |date=2006-10-27 }}, ''CQPolitics, October 13, 2006</ref>

On October 26, 2006, ''[[American Prospect]]'' magazine reported that e-mails recently had been forwarded to the Justice Department that describe alleged efforts by official members of Weldon's staff to call Navy employees for information and negative statements about Democratic opponent Sestak. In one [[The Pentagon|Pentagon]] email, Weldon's office is described as "calling everyone and his brother" in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (OPNAV) about Sestak.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewWeb&articleId=12169 |title=American Prospect Online - ViewWeb |access-date=2006-11-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070213061648/http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewWeb&articleId=12169 |archive-date=2007-02-13 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On October 27, 2006, the advocacy group [[Campaign for America's Future]] began running advertisements in Pennsylvania's 7th District questioning $233,840 in campaign contributions Weldon received from drug and insurance companies, in light of his voting history.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://home.ourfuture.org/weldon/ |title=Campaign for America's Future :: Rep. Curt Weldon |access-date=2006-10-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061102210410/http://home.ourfuture.org/weldon/ |archive-date=2006-11-02 }}</ref>

On November 7, 2006, Weldon lost the general election, taking 44% of the vote to Sestak's 56%.