John Eichelberger

John Eichelberger (born September 1, 1958) of Blair Township, Pennsylvania is an American politician and former Pennsylvania State Senator. He is a member of the Republican Party. He represented the 30th district of the Pennsylvania State Senate.

John Eichelberger
Member of the Pennsylvania Senate
from the 30th district
In office
January 2, 2007 – November 30, 2018
Preceded byRobert Jubelirer
Succeeded byJudy Ward
Member of the Blair County
Board of Commissioners
In office
1995–2007
Personal details
Born (1958-09-01) September 1, 1958
Altoona, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseCharlotte Eichelberger
ResidenceDuncansville, Pennsylvania

Eichelberger gained notoriety following his defeat of Senate President Pro-Tempore Robert Jubelirer in the May 2006 primary election. In 2018, he ran to represent Pennsylvania's 13th congressional district in the U.S. House, though lost his party's nomination in the primary.

Biography

Prior to his career in government, Eichelberger was the President of an insurance brokerage in Altoona, Pennsylvania. In 1995, he was elected to the Blair County Commission. He was re-elected in 1999 and 2003. During his tenure as county commissioner, he was a major critic of local Congressman Bud Shuster, focusing on Shuster's "ethical clouds" in the later years of his tenure.[1] When Shuster resigned in February 2001, Eichelberger's name was floated as a possible successor.[1] Instead, the Republican State Committee selected Shuster's son, Bill Shuster, to be the Republican nominee for the May 2001 special election. Bill Shuster won the committee's nomination after replacing 18 members of the Blair County, Pennsylvania Republican Committee with his own supporters.[2]

2006 Election

His Senate campaign was sparked by the 2005 Pennsylvania pay raise. Senate President Pro Tem Robert Jubelirer was a rival in Blair County politics who had supported the pay increase. His campaign was aided by conservative Bob Guzzardi.[3] Eichelberger attacked Jubelirer for his support of the raise as well as his stance on abortion. During the campaign, Eichelberger received support from conservatives such as former congressman Pat Toomey and former Lieutenant Governor Bill Scranton.[4] Jubelirer counter-attacked, noting that Eichelberger had benefited from pay raises as a commissioner. In addition, Jubelirer alleged that Eichelberger had a poor voting record on the commission.

On primary election day, Eichelberger took 44% to Jubelirer's 36% and C. Arnold McClure's 20%. Jubelirer and David Brightbill were the first top-ranked General Assembly leaders to be defeated in a primary since 1964.[5] Eichelberger went on to defeat businessman and Democratic candidate Greg Morris in the general election with 62.7% of the vote.

He was unopposed for re-election in 2010 and in 2014.

Electoral history
Pennsylvania Senate, District 30: May 2006 Primary Election[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican John Eichelberger 15,445 43.9
Republican Robert Jubelirer 12,662 36.0
Republican C. Arnold McClure 7,097 20.2
Pennsylvania Senate, District 30: November 2006 General Election[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican John Eichelberger 45,607 62.7
Democratic Greg Morris 27,106 37.3
Republican hold Swing
Pennsylvania Senate, District 30: November 2010 General Election[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican John Eichelberger 67,457 100 +37.3
Republican hold Swing
Pennsylvania Senate, District 30: November 2014 General Election[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican John Eichelberger 52,042 100
Republican hold Swing

References
  1. John Gizzi (2001-01-19). "Cracks in the house of shuster". Human Events. Retrieved 2008-10-30.
  2. Gizzi, John (2001-03-19). "Shuster's son also rises". Human Events. Retrieved 2008-10-30.
  3. Barnes, Tom (April 30, 2006). "Anger over pay raise dogs Jubelirer campaign". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh.
  4. Tom Barnes, Pay raise support imperils Jubelirer's re-election bid, Pittsburgh Post Gazette, 5/12/06
  5. Neri, Al (February 2006). "State Senate Outlook". The Insider. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28.
  6. http://www.electionreturns.state.pa.us Archived 2008-06-26 at the Wayback Machine
  7. http://www.electionreturns.state.pa.us Archived 2008-05-29 at the Wayback Machine
  8. http://www.electionreturns.state.pa.us Archived 2010-11-06 at the Wayback Machine
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-06-06. Retrieved 2017-03-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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