In the U.S. 4th Congressional district, incumbent Republican congressman Scott DesJarlais had an easy time defeating his Democratic challenger, Steven Reynolds. The Associated Press called the race for the incumbent shortly before 9 p.m.
DesJarlais lead by 66 percent to 34 percent for Reynolds, 135,112 to 70,760.
“It was a good win for us tonight,” DesJarlais said in an interview Tuesday evening. “This is certainly our biggest win in a general election.”
DesJarlais, a former South Pittsburgh physician, is a Tea Party member who won his primary contest in 2014 by only 38 votes. He had tough opposition again in the GOP primary this year, defeating challenger Grant Jarrett by 4,000 votes. Reynolds is a businessman who spent most of his life working in the construction materials industry.
DesJarlais said no matter who wins the presidential contest, he believes his constituents want to see Congress do more to address the nation’s problems. “We’ve got big problems with the health care law, it is not sustainable in current form,” DesJarlais said. “A lot of people want to see border security happen, we have to strengthen our military and fix problems with the Veterans Administration. We’ve got to pass a balanced budget, we need tax reform, regardless of who wins the presidency people are sick and tired of business as usual in Washington.”