What comes after the Massachusetts Miracle? How about the Pennsylvania Pounding? Or maybe even the Hawaiian Heart Attack? The results of two special elections to be held next month could rock the Democratic Party almost as hard as Senator Scott Brown's (R-Massachusetts) victory did in January.

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First up is the May 18 Pennsylvania special election to fill the remainder of the late Congressman John Murtha's term in the 12th district. The Democrats' candidate is Murtha aide Mark Critz who is not only a surrogate incumbent at a time when anti-incumbent sentiment is running rampant, he also has the same kind of questionable ethics that were long associated with his deceased boss. From tax violations when he worked in the private sector to complaints lodged with the House Ethics Committee for using government grants to campaign, Mr. Critz always seemed to be in the middle of every Murtha controversy. (source)

His Republican opponent in the special election is political newcomer Tim Burns, a successful entrepreneur who sold his successful pharmacy technology company in 2003 and has since been active as an adviser in economic development projects in Southwestern Pennsylvania. He has also volunteered his time helping flood victims in Sharpsburg (Allegheny County), traveling to Mississippi to provide aid to the victims of Hurricane Katrina, volunteering at a local hospice and directing a youth camp for special needs children. A conservative who believes in smaller government and lower taxes, Mr. Burns may be just what the GOP needs to take a seat that has been in the Democrats' hands since 1973. (source)

Meanwhile, Hawaii holds its all-party special election to replace retiring Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) in the state's first congressional district on May 22. In what is often referred to as President Barack Obama's home district, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is working feverishly to prevent a very real scenario in which the two top Democrats split the party vote and enable Republican Charles Djou to capture the heavily Democratic seat. (source)

Honolulu City Councilman Djou only needs to win a plurality of the votes in a district where George W. Bush won 47 percent of the vote in 2004 and where the state’s Republican governor, Linda Lingle, won 65 percent and the race has been tilting toward the possibility of a stunning Republican upset in recent weeks. Once considered a "safe" Democratic seat, it was reclassified by the influential Cook Political Report as a "likely" Democratic hold and on March 18 it moved it into the "toss up" category. (source)

Mr. Djou recently remarked, "Nothing can make a more powerful statement than to send a Republican to represent Barack Obama's hometown." It's definitely time for those kind of powerful statements to be made in Hawaii, Pennsylvania and every other state in the Union.