U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright's journey into politics was launched back in 2012 when he rode the strength of his home county of Lackawanna in the May primary election to unseat incumbent Tim Holden of Schuylkill County.

On Tuesday, his home county's sizable voter plurality once again played the same role in helping Cartwright to win re-election to a third two-year term of office in the 17th Congressional district.The Democratic congressman, who resides in Moosic, soundly defeated Republican challenger Matthew Connolly, a Northampton County small-business owner, by a 70-30 percent ratio in Lackawanna and went on to win by an overall vote of 146,863 (53.98 percent) to 125,195 (46.02 percent).Cartwright's vote totals out of the county seat of Scranton were eye-opening. He received 48,039 votes there, compared to only 19,584 for Connelly, the 28,455-vote win there offsetting a loss he sustained in Schuylkill and Carbon counties and close results in Monroe and Northampton counties.Of course, like a good neighbor, Luzerne County blessed the congressman with his second-best results, and they weren't at all shabby. There, he defeated Connolly by a vote of 23,672 to 13,384, meaning in Lackawanna and Luzerne combined, Cartwright had an advantage of over 38,000 votes that could never be threatened.The county-by-county vote totals showed:Carbon: Connolly, 11,025; Cartwright, 8,429.Lackawanna: Cartwright, 48,039; Connolly, 19,584.Luzerne: Cartwright, 23,672; Connolly, 13,384.Monroe: Cartwright, 15,566; Connolly, 14,619.Northampton: Connolly, 28,313; Cartwright, 27,904.Schuylkill:Connolly, 38,270; Cartwright, 23,253.With the victory, Cartwright will return to Washington as a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, the panel that makes annual spending decisions for all federal agencies and is considered one of the most powerful committees in Congress.Until Cartwright's recent elevation to Appropriations, northeastern Pennsylvania has not had representation on the committee since the tenures of U.S. Rep. Dan Flood, D-Wilkes-Barre, and U.S. Rep. Joe McDade, R-Scranton, who served for a total of nearly 50 years. Collectively, they played significant roles in bringing millions of dollars to the commonwealth and the east.The 17th District was redesigned after the 2010 census, eventually being at the expense of Holden, who served in the Congress for 20 years, initially as the representative in the 6th District but then representing the 17th District.Currently, all of Schuylkill County is part of the 17th District that Cartwright represents, as are the townships of East Penn, Franklin, Lower Towamensing, Mahoning and Towamensing and the boroughs of Bowmanstown, Jim Thorpe, Lansford, Nesquehoning, Palmerton, Parryville, Summit Hill and Weissport, all in Carbon County. The district also includes parts of Lackawanna County, including Scranton; Luzerne County, including Wilkes-Barre; Monroe County; and Northampton County, including Easton.Cartwright has previously stated his goals in representing the district are to support and expand the Social Security and Medicare systems; bring good-paying jobs to northeast Pennsylvania by bringing as much federal tax money back to the district as a member of the Appropriations Committee; working to keep Americans safe by voting to fund the war against ISIS and terrorism; and being an ardent supporter of American veterans.