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This is great news for progressives, and thanks to Blue America, the League of Conservation Voters and many activists and blogs, we're very likely sending a real progressive to Congress to represent Pennsylvania's 13th District:

Two conservative Democrats lost their seats in Pennsylvania tonight thanks to the state’s new congressional map: Rep. Jason Altmire in a highly competitive member-vs-member Democratic primary for the 12th district, while Rep. Tim Holden (D) was defeated in a primary by lawyer Matt Cartwright in Pennsylvania’s new 17th district.

Altmire represented about two thirds of the new 12th district, and early polls suggested he had the edge in the race.

Rep. Mark Critz beat Rep. Jason Altmire in a highly competitive member-vs-member Democratic primary for the 12th district, while Rep. Tim Holden (D) was defeated in a primary by lawyer Matt Cartwright in Pennsylvania’s new 17th district.

Altmire represented about two thirds of the new 12th district, and early polls suggested he had the edge in the race.

Congressman Mark Critz shows his ID to Kelly Swanson, minority inspector at precinct 17-2, as he prepares to vote in primary elections, at St. Patrick's Church Hall, in Johnstown, Pa. Tuesday, April 24, 2012. (Todd Berkey - AP)

But organized labor invested heavily in taking down Altmire, in part for his vote against the health-care law, and former President Bill Clinton endorsed Critz. (Critz is no liberal either; he also opposed health-care reform, although he wasn’t in office at the time.)

[...] A Blue Dog Democrat and another health-reform opponent, Holden represented a central Pennsylvania swing district for the past ten years. But Republican-controlled redistricting gave him a safe Democratic district where he was little known to the vast majority of voters.

That created an opening for Cartwright, a Scranton lawyer who stars in a popular legal segment on the evening news.

The Campaign for Primary Accountability, a new super PAC aimed at taking down incumbents in both parties, spent over $200,000 on the race. But the League of Conservation Voters actually spent more to defeat Holden, who often supported Republican energy policy.

Holden raised $911,813 for the race; Cartwright raised $707,043, including $390,000 from his own pocket.