Reschenthaler heads to landslide win to retain U.S. House seat
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Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler is expected to win a fourth term in Congress as vote totals continued to be tallied Tuesday night.
According to unofficial results from the district’s five counties, as of 10 p.m., Reschenthaler had received 64% of the vote with Democratic challenger Chris Dziados receiving 36%.
Reschenthaler, 41, of Peters Township appeared to be headed to a landslide victory over South Strabane’s Dziados. The 14th Congressional District includes all of Fayette, Greene and Washington counties and most of Westmoreland, Indiana and Somerset counties.
“It is a tremendous honor to represent Pennsylvania’s 14th District and I am humbled by tonight’s overwhelming victory,” Reschenthaler wrote in a social media post Tuesday night. “I’ll never stop fighting for the people of southwestern Pennsylvania.”
Reschenthaler campaign officials said the congressman was not celebrating with local supporters Tuesday night and instead planned to fly to Florida to watch election returns with former President Donald Trump.
He has been a strong supporter of Trump during Trump’s administration and after he left the White House. Earlier this year, Reschenthaler sponsored a bill to rename Dulles Airport in Washington, D.C., after the former president.
Reschenthaler has served in Congress since 2018. He previously served as a state senator, representing a district based in the Pittsburgh suburb of Mt. Lebanon, after serving as a district judge. A 2007 graduate of Duquesne University Law School, he served in the Navy as a JAG officer (lawyer) and prosecuted terrorists in Iraq.
His path to victory was expected based on the makeup of the district, where about 56% of registered voters are Republican.
Reschenthaler also had a substantial financial edge in the race through mid-October. According to campaign finance reports, the incumbent spent more than $3.4 million toward his reelection, while Dziados had raised just $255,000 over the same period.
Dziados, 44, grew up in Indiana County and enlisted in the Army, where he served for two decades. His military service included multiple deployments to Iraq, and he served on the staff for the undersecretary of defense before his retirement at the end of last year. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and master’s degrees from Johns Hopkins University and Georgetown University in systems engineering and finance.
Reschenthaler has backed Trump’s legislative agenda and opposed a bipartisan immigration deal that was scuttled this year. He has been a pro-life advocate throughout his legislative career.
Dziados pledged to back the bipartisan immigration bill if it was reconsidered by Congress and had said he opposed efforts to impose a national abortion ban.