Congressman Mike Kelly faces challenge from Justin Wagner in Pennsylvania's 16th District

Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly faces a challenge from Democratic candidate Justin Wagner in the race to serve the 16th Congressional District in Pennsylvania.

Rep. Mike Kelly, 78, has served eight terms representing the district in northwest Pennsylvania, which is made up of Butler, Crawford, Erie, Lawrence and Mercer counties, along with part of Venango County. 

With 15 years of service to Pennsylvanians and having become a power broker on Capitol Hill, Kelly faces a midterm election challenge from Justin Wagner, a 47-year-old engineer and Iraq War veteran born and raised in Mercer County.

While Kelly has coasted to victory in the last eight elections, Wagner said this might be the year to end Kelly's streak in Congress, given the incumbent's close alignment with President Trump. 

"I hope that [voters] see what's happening now is the direct result of the policies of this administration," Wagner told KDKA-TV in October. "And they can take a look and say, 'Hey, we got this new guy. Maybe he has some good ideas. Let's give him a chance and see if he can help us out.'"

While conceding that midterms are sometimes a referendum on the sitting president, Kelly has stood on his individual record of delivering for his district. 

"If you check my record, you'd have a hard time finding somebody who's done a better job in Congress than I have," Kelly told KDKA-TV in October. "Why would I say that? Well, look at it from 2011 until this year, I have been elected time after time after time by voters. Not just by Republicans, but also Democrats."