PENNSYLVANIA, USA — Editor's note: The above video is from October 15.
Republican Congressman Fred Keller has been re-elected to seat in the U.S. House 12th District, defeating Democrat Lee Griffin, according to the projection by the Associated Press.
Keller, a former state representative from Snyder County returns to Washington to represent the state’s largest district by area. The 12th District covers portions of Bradford, Centre, Clinton, Juniata, Lycoming, Mifflin, Northumberland, Perry, Potter, Snyder, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Union, and Wyoming counties.
After spending eight years in the State House, Keller earned his seat in Congress by winning a special election to replace Tom Marino in 2019. He defeated Griffin, a political newcomer, who said he entered the race because of his wife, a non-white South African immigrant.
Griffin, a retail warehouse owner, was running for office for the first time. He ran on a platform of increasing broadband Internet access for rural communities, passing another economic stimulus to help those affected by COVID-19,
During his campaign, Keller told FOX43 he wanted to continue promoting natural gas usage and energy development -- two key components to the economy in his district.
"It's certainly more prevalent in the northern tier than other parts of the district," he said, "But certainly, agriculture is one thing that is across the district that is the biggest industry in PA-12 and across the state."
Keller also said during the campaign that protecting Americans from COVID-19 was vitally important, but “we also need to make sure we have the resources to be able to do that in the future, and that means (having) a sustainable economy that’s safe for everybody to work and go to school.”
Prior to entering politics, Keller worked at Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp. for 25 years, eventually working as a plant manager. He also served as auditor for Middlecreek Township.