Murtha in trouble after calling constituents racist

A new independent poll shows Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) leading his opponent by only five points, just a week after he suggested residents of western Pennsylvania are racist. 

Forty-six percent of voters in Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district said they supported Murtha, while 41 percent voiced support for his Republican challenger, retired Army Lt. Col. Bill Russell. Eight percent of voters said they were undecided, 4 percent said they preferred another candidate, and 1 percent refused to answer.

{mosads}Murtha has found himself in hot water after telling the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that there is "no question" western Pennsylvania is racist. Murtha subsequently apologized, only to make another controversial statement about his constituents earlier this week.

“This whole area, years ago, was really redneck,” Murtha told a Pittsburgh television news affiliate earlier this week.

And his Republican competition is getting airtime as the result of Murtha’s comments.

“When you have folks that are of rural persuasions that live in these areas, I think it's a very unfair description of the people," Russell said Wednesday on Fox News’s “Hannity & Colmes.”

“Right now … there’s one [poll] that shows us ahead, and there are some more that are coming out here that, I think, will shock you,” Russell said. “We’ve had a number of calls, people approaching saying they're just absolutely outraged, and they are fully intending to vote against Mr. Murtha.”

Russell reported having $2.2 million in the race, and had $330,000 in cash on hand at the beginning of October, respectable figures for a challenger to a longtime incumbent.

Murtha has spent under $1.9 million in the race, but reported over $500,000 in cash on hand through the middle of October. Murtha has represented the district since 1973, and won reelection in 2006 with 61 percent of the vote.

The poll, conducted Oct. 21 by Susquehanna Research for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, has a 4.9 percent margin of error.