Vice tightens on Altmire

As we noted yesterday, Jason Altmire gets it from all sides -- in the last week the GOP has torched him in robocalls, environmentalists have run a radio ad against him, and now the state's Democratic party chair is saying he'll likely face a primary next year.

Last year Altmire's supporters in labor were caught off guard by his vote against health care reform, and considered mounting a primary challenge by Allegheny County Labor Council Chief Jack Shea. But it would have meant either a write-in bid for the Dem nomination or a run in the fall as an independent, so Shea scratched it.

In Roll Call today, party chair Jim Burn says there is talk in some circles about challenging the McCandless Democrat in 2012, but he doesn't name names. (And says he supports the 3-term congressman, which was nice of him.) As PoliticsPa notes, he may not even have a district in 2012 -- or taking that a step further, the Democrat he could face may be named Mark Critz.

Altmire photo. Roll Call.