Update: Murtha apologizes for calling western PA 'racist' RAW STORY

Published: Thursday October 16, 2008





Print This Email This Democratic Rep. John Murtha apologized Thursday for accusing voters in western Pennsylvania of being racist, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. A day after he called Western Pennsylvania "a racist area," U.S. Rep. John P. Murtha said in a statement today "I apologize for making the comment."



He continued, "While we cannot deny that race is a factor in this election, I believe we've been able to look beyond race these past few months, and that voters today are concerned with the policy differences of our two candidates and their vision for the future of our great country," said Mr. Murtha, a Johnstown Democrat. Murtha, whose district includes much of southwestern Pennsylvania, had previously predicted that Barack Obama, the first African American to lead a major party ticket, would win Pennsylvania in this year's presidential election by closer margins than polls have predicted.



"I think Obama is going to win, but I don't think it's going to be a runaway," said John Murtha, a 17-term Democrat from Johnstown, Pennsylvania.



"There's no question Western Pennsylvania is a racist area," he said. "The older population is more hesitant."



In a meeting with the Post-Gazette's editorial staff, Murth said he was impressed with Obama's organization in the state and said he saw momentum growing behind the Democrat's campaign.



Obama's Republican rival John McCain has borne the brunt of the economic crisis, said Murtha.



Military veterans and senior citizens began to support Obama in recent weeks, he said, but it had "taken time for the state's voters embrace a black presidential candidate," reported the newspaper.



The latest aggregate poll from RealClearPolitics.com finds Obama leading McCain in Pennsylvania by over 13 percentage points.



With wire reports



