Christopher Deluzio

The candidates for Pennsylvania’s 17th Congressional District seat are appealing to cost-conscious voters facing rising costs at grocery stores, gas pumps and elsewhere.

But incumbent U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Fox Chapel, and Beaver County Sheriff Tony Guy, a Republican, point blame for the high costs in different directions and offer different solutions for reducing them.

“We’re pricing an entire generation out of the American dream,” said Guy, 65, of Hopewell. “I’ll fight to clamp down on the excessive regulation and cost of government that’s driving up your cost of living. I’ll fight to unleash the energy right underneath us here in Southwest Pa.”

Deluzio points blame for runaway costs at President Donald Trump and fellow Republicans who control both chambers of Congress.

“The No. 1 thing I hear is that life is too expensive. Costs are outpacing paychecks, and Donald Trump and congressional Republicans have made it worse,” said Deluzio, 42, of Fox Chapel. “The easiest and most direct thing to do would be to put an end to this Iran war and stop these reckless trade wars. We should also restore the tax credit for Obamacare, the Affordable Care Act, that has pushed nearly 200,000 Pennsylvanians off their healthcare.”

The 17th District includes all of Beaver County and part of Allegheny County, including portions of the North, West and South Hills and the Alle-Kiski Valley.

Deluzio is in his second term. Nearly 48% of voters in the district are registered Democrats, almost 37% are Republicans, and about 16% are independents or members of other parties.

Deluzio won his 2022 race by nearly 7 percentage points and his 2024 race by almost 8 points. The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan newsletter that analyzes races for the White House, Congress and governor, projects this year’s race is solidly in favor of Deluzio.

Deluzio grew up in Thornburg and graduated from Bishop Canevin High School in Pittsburgh’s East Carnegie. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the Naval Academy and serve as a Naval officer, including a tour of duty in Iraq. He later earned a law degree from Georgetown University.

Deluzio worked at the Brennan Center for Justice with a focus on voting rights and election security, and as a legal and policy scholar at the University of Pittsburgh’s Institute for Cyber Law, Policy and Security.

Guy, a Beaver County native, graduated from the former Quigley Catholic High School in Baden. He served as a Pennsylvania State Police trooper for 26 years, rising to the rank of sergeant, before being elected sheriff in 2016.

As sheriff, Guy established formal training and performance standards for the agency and implemented a merit-based hiring and promotion system. The Beaver Valley Chiefs of Police Association gave him its Distinguished Service Award in 2023.

Deluzio as a lawmaker

One of the signature pieces of legislation Deluzio has authored has been the Railway Safety Act.

First proposed during his first term and then reintroduced in his second, the measure would strengthen safety requirements for freight railroads. Deluzio, a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, introduced the bill after a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, bordering Beaver County.

“I never shied from the powerful railroads,” Deluzio said, adding that the bill was inserted into a larger, “must-pass” transportation funding bill that could be voted on this year.

Deluzio also helped secure $193.5 million in earmarks for 14 projects in Western Pennsylvania, ranking third-highest in the House. That included $183.8 million for upgrades to Montgomery Locks and Dam in Beaver County.

Deluzio, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, has been outspoken on military issues.

He and five other Democratic members of Congress released a video last year telling service members they have an obligation to refuse illegal orders, which is established military protocol. Trump said making the video amounted to “seditious behavior” and could be “punishable by death.” While Trump said each of the lawmakers should be put on trial, a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., rejected an indictment request by prosecutors.

Deluzio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had a contentious exchange during a congressional hearing in April over accounts that a U.S. command post in Kuwait was unprepared for an Iranian drone attack that killed six troops and injured dozens more.

Earlier this month, Deluzio called for Hegseth to be fired, citing the high turnover of high-ranking military officials since last year and the war in Iran, which the congressman described as a “disaster.”

He said the war has cost taxpayers billions of dollars while raising the cost of gasoline and other products for consumers and depleting munitions supplies.

Guy’s goals

Guy said he wants to work to bring more jobs to Western Pennsylvania, strengthen public safety, eliminate wasteful government spending and boost energy production.

He said he supports initiatives like requiring voters to show identification at polling places and banning transgender athletes from participating in female sports. He would oppose any efforts to eliminate or decrease funding for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as some progressive members of Congress have proposed.

Like Deluzio, Guy wants to bring the war in Iran to an end.

“It has to end and end soon. It’s accelerating the high cost of energy. We’ve got to get done and done in a way that eliminates Iran’s ability to threaten the U.S. and others,” Guy said.

Guy said he thinks tariffs imposed by the Trump administration “have generally been effective, with an emphasis on generally.”

“There are some areas where they have created some additional friction, but I think it’s up to the (president) to be able to negotiate tariffs. I don’t think Congress should be tying the president’s hands on those things,” he said.

Deluzio had a significant fundraising advantage over Guy as of the end of June, according to the latest figures available from the Federal Election Commission. Deluzio had nearly $1.1 million in available as of June 30, compared to almost $36,000 for Guy.