Related information Map: Western Pennsylvania Congressional districts To determine in which U.S. congressional district you reside, visit www.house.gov. For links to previous Campaign 2006 articles, visit our Elections page.

There are three contested primaries for U.S. House districts in the region.

In the 3rd Congressional District, which extends from the state's northwest corner on Lake Erie down into the northern part of Butler County, incumbent U.S. Rep. Phil English, R-Erie, is unopposed for the GOP nomination. Democrat Steven Porter is the lone candidate for the Democratic nomination.

In the 9th District, spread over several rural counties to the east of Pittsburgh, incumbent Republican Bill Shuster of Hollidaysburg has no opponent in the primary or general election.

In the 12th District, a sprawling collection of communities that includes parts of nine counties, including a sliver of Allegheny County on its northeast border with Armstrong County, incumbent John P. Murtha, D-Johnstown, is unopposed for his party's nomination. He will be opposed in November by Washington County Commissioner Diana Irey, the sole candidate for the GOP nomination.

U.S. House, 4th District

Georgia Berner, a Lawrence County businesswoman, and Jason Altmire, a former congressional staffer and UPMC executive, are vying for the Democratic nomination to challenge U.S. Rep. Melissa Hart, R-Bradford Woods, in the 4th Congressional District.

Ms. Hart, 44, who is unopposed for the GOP nomination, is seeking a fourth term in a district that includes Beaver and Lawrence counties and parts of Mercer, Allegheny, Butler and Westmoreland counties. The district has a Democratic voter registration advantage but has favored GOP candidates, like the incumbent, in recent state and national elections.

The two Democrats contend that they can return the seat to its Democratic roots. They argue that Ms. Hart's voting record is more conservative than the views of her constituency and hope to ride what they see as a gathering wave of Democratic momentum heading toward November. Both have criticized Ms. Hart's votes in favor of free trade. They propose somewhat similar solutions to the nation's health care issues.

Mr. Altmire, 38, who lives in McCandless, was raised in Lower Burrell and graduated from Burrell High School before attending Florida State University. After graduating with a degree in political science, he worked on the successful congressional campaign of Rep. Pete Peterson, D-Fla., a former prisoner of war who went on to serve as ambassador to Vietnam. As a legislative assistant to Mr. Peterson, Mr. Altmire concentrated on domestic issues, particularly health care.

The 63-year-old Ms. Berner's role managing a business was thrust upon her when her first husband died in a plane crash in 1984. The firm, Berner International, has won numerous state and national awards for small businesses. It manufactures air doors -- the powered wind curtains that provide climate control for open doorways and loading docks.

Both candidates support an early withdrawal of troops from Iraq and both have criticized the Bush administration and Ms. Hart for their stalled proposals to change the nation's Social Security system. Mr. Altmire describes himself as anti-abortion while Ms. Berner supports abortion rights.

U.S. House, 14th District

U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Forest Hills, is being challenged by Mike Isaac, a Pittsburgh high school teacher, in the heavily Democratic 14th Congressional District.

Mr. Isaac, 34, of Squirrel Hill, acknowledges that the political odds strongly favor the incumbent. He praises Mr. Doyle's record on a variety of issues, notably his early opposition to the war in Iraq. He disagrees with the six-term lawmaker on the issue of abortion. Mr. Doyle opposes abortion while Mr. Isaac favors abortion rights.

Mr. Doyle, 52, a former legislative staffer in Harrisburg, is a graduate of Penn State University. Mr. Isaac, the son of a Cuban immigrant, graduated from Duquesne University.

Mr. Doyle was elected to Congress in 1994, defying the national trend in the election in which his party lost control of the House of Representatives for the first time in a generation. He said he hopes to be re-elected because he is confident that that GOP tide will be reversed in November, giving him the opportunity to vote as a member of the majority for the first time in his congressional career.

U.S. House, 18th District

Chad Kluko, 44, of Monroeville, and Tom Kovach, 44, of Peters, are competing for the Democratic nomination in the 18th Congressional District, a seat that includes parts of Washington, Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, a band of communities extending horizontally south of the city of Pittsburgh.

Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair, has represented the district since its creation in its current form prior to the 2002 election. Whichever Democrat prevails in the primary will face an uphill struggle against an incumbent with significant advantages in name recognition and campaign cash.

Both of the Democrats contend, however, that Mr. Murphy is vulnerable to attacks on his relatively conservative voting record and ties to the Bush administration.

Mr. Kovach, a Navy veteran, analyzes risk for an industrial insurance firm. Mr. Kluko was a senior executive for national television and wireless corporations.

While Mr. Murphy has specialized in health care issues in Congress, both of his prospective opponents contend that he has not done enough to extend health care to the uninsured or to contain the spiral of health care costs. Mr. Kovach favors a national health insurance system, while Mr. Kluko argues for a hybrid system with private health insurance existing alongside an expanded Medicare program.