HARRISBURG -- Because of the great political interest in the matter, Gov. Ed Rendell says he'll soon decide whether to have a special election to fill U.S. Rep. John Murtha's seat in Congress or whether to hold the election on primary day, May 18.

He said Monday that his "inclination is to save the state money by holding the special election on primary day in May."

Mr. Murtha died Monday. The governor said it may not be possible to wait until May 18 to fill the seat.

"There are many important issues Congress may have to decide before that," he said during a telephone news conference.

State Democratic and Republican committees will have to choose their candidate to compete for the seat, he said, but added, "This is not the day to talk about that."

According to election officials, the election must be held at least 60 days after Mr. Rendell issues the order for a special election, to allow time for campaigning.

Each of the major parties can nominate a candidate for the seat. Independent candidates can run if they can get a certain number of petition signatures.

Holding the special election on May 18 could benefit the Democratic contender, since a large turnout of Democrats is expected for the U.S. Senate battle between incumbent Sen. Arlen Specter and his challenger, U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak. Holding the election on a date before May 18 could benefit Republicans, since they are known to turn out for such elections.

Washington correspondent Daniel Malloy writes the "Pittsburgh On The Potomac" blog exclusively at PG+, a members-only web site of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.