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The two vulnerable House Democrats from Pennsylvania who voted against the first version of the bailout bill held strong in their opposition Friday, casting no votes on an amended Senate bill that passed the House.

Both U.S. Reps. Chris Carney (D-Dimock) and Jason Altmire (D-D-McCandless) voted against the legislation. Both are facing tough reelection battles in conservative-leaning districts.

Carney faces Republican Chris Hackett in the 10th Congressional District, while Altmire is being challenged by Melissa Hart in the 4th Congressional District.

Republican Congressional candidate Melissa Hart disputed that her opponent, U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire (D-McCandless), defected from his party when he voted Monday against a $700 billion bailout plan.

"Not really," she told PolitickerPA.com. "I think what you saw was a whole bunch of vulnerable freshman voting against it."

Ninety-five Democrats voted against the plan, which was defeated 228-205. One-hundred-and-forty Democrats voted in favor of the bill.

Hart, who lost to Altmire in 2006 by 4 percentage points, is trying to unseat the first-time incumbent in one of the state's most competitive races.

The candidate said she thinks Congress moved too quickly to intervene in the market. She prefers lawmakers give a little more time to allow the market to take care of itself.

U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire (R-McCandless), shortly after voting against a $700 billion bailout plan for Wall Strett, indicated in a statement Monday he will oppose a bailout of any kind.

"I agree the economy is struggling, but the free market works properly only if there is a downside to risk," Altmire said. "It is not the government's role to reward bad decisions or nullify the downside to investment risks."

"Hundreds" of constituents told him they opposed the plan, Altmire said.

"They wonder why Washington is so quick to act to help those on Wall Street, yet nothing is done to help them," he said. "The times ahead are going to require tough decisions, but we should not start by asking American families and small businesses to pay for the mistakes of Wall Street. The $700 billion Wall Street bailout plan is not the right response to this crisis."

Former U.S. Rep. Melissa HartBEAVER -- U.S. House candidate Melissa Hart is counting on 2008 to be different than 2006, when voters in the 4th Congressional District removed her from office amid a tidal wave of anti-GOP sentiment in the state and country.

She can point to one way it already is -- the absence of former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum and GOP gubernatorial candidate Lynn Swann. Neither is on the ballot this year, unlike 2006, when each lost by more than 15 points to his Democratic opposition.

Their ill-fated candidacies, combined with a highly unpopular war in Iraq, helped put U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire (D-McCandless) in office, Hart told PolitickerPA.com while knocking on doors in Beaver Borough last Saturday. She was canvassing the area as part of what aides say has become a vigorous grassroots effort to help put Hart back in office.

"Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong in 2006," Hart said.

The difference provided by the top of this year's Republican ticket, John McCain and Sarah Palin, and attempts to paint Altmire as a "Nancy Pelosi liberal" are Hart's two biggest hopes to recapture her former seat.

The campaign for U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire (D-McCandless) said the congressman is in Washington now determining how the government should respond to the country's financial crisis but declined to say whether it would affect any campaign events.

"I'm not going to go into that; I don't think it's necessary," said Tess Mullen, Altmire's communication's director.

She emphasized Altmire has never missed a vote during his nearly two years in office.

Altmire faces Republican Melissa Hart this fall, whom he unseated in 2006 in the 4th Congressional District.

The campaign for U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire (D-McCandless) has released its third campaign ad, touting what is says is the first-term's incumbent's commitment to helping the 4th Congressional District's economy.

The 30-second spot, which the campaign said will run on all of Pittsburgh's network TV stations, highlights Altmire's efforts on seemingly non-partisan issues, such as bringing money back to the district for infrastructure repairs. For the length of his campaign, the Democrat has attempted to portray himself as a moderate lawmaker more interested in helping the region than committing to liberal ideology.

His opponent, Republican Melissa Hart, says that contention is rooted in myth, not fact. She is trying to defeat Altmire after he unseated her in 2006.

The campaign for congressional candidate Melissa Hart says an internal poll showing the candidate facing a 5-point deficit proves she is in a "tight race" against Democratic incumbent Jason Altmire in the 4th Congressional District.

The poll, conducted by Public Opinion Strategies and released Monday by Hart's campaign, says "Melissa is well within striking distance, and if she has the funds to fully fund her advertising budget, she should be able to break Altmire's tenuous hold on this seat."

Its margin of error is 4.9 percent.

Hart is challenging Altmire after losing to him by fewer than 4 percentage points in 2006, a year poisonous for Republican statewide and nationally.

Tom Cole, the Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee will be in state on Wednesday to campaign for former Congresswomen Melissa Hart.  Cole and Hart will hold a joint press conference at the Ingomar Gulf gas station to discuss energy and energy exploration. 

Congressional candidate Melissa Hart has received the endorsement of Firearm Owners Against Crime, a Second Amendment Political Action Committee that could help her pro-gun credentials after her opponent, U.S. Jason Altmire (D-McCandless), received the NRA endorsement.

FAOC has 60,000 "contacts" across the state and is the state's largest pro-gun PAC, according to a release from Hart's campaign,

Kim Stolfer, chairman of the group, credited the former congresswoman for her dedication to protecting Second Amendment Rights.

"Unfortunately the same cannot be said for her opponenent as the incumbent has avoided making the tough decisions when it comes to choosing between politics and citizens freedoms," Stofler said in a statement.

With six U.S. House races in play this fall, Pennsylvania has the largest number of competitive congressional races than any other state in the country, a new Politicker.com report shows.

The Pindell Report, which launched today, aims to provide the country's most dynamic and richly reported ranking and analysis of U.S. Senate, U.S. House and gubernatorial races, plus presidential swing states.

The report, named for Politicker.com Managing Editor James Pindell, shows that of the 435 U.S. House races nationwide six -- the 3rd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th and 11th district races -- are among the top 59 the report is tracking. Two of those races, the 11th and 10th, rank in the top 20 of races.