Bethlehem racing car team owner Matt Connolly earned the Republican party nod to face off against incumbent Democrat Matt Cartwright in the general election for the 17th Congressional District.

Connolly's opponent, Glenn Geissinger, was unable to parlay his experience as a business owner, Northampton city councilman and Army veteran into a victory against Connolly's full-throated conservatism.

Cartwright, of Moosic, working toward a third term representing the 17th District, was unopposed on the Democratic side.

The 17th Congressional District includes part of Lackawanna County stretching from Carbondale through Scranton to Moosic and down to Thornhurst Twp., the Wilkes-Barre and Pittston areas and other parts of Luzerne County, all or parts of Berks, Perry, Lebanon or Schuylkill counties.