Republican William Russell barely made it on to this year's ballot.  A successful write-in campaign in the primaries earned him a spot on the GOP ticket.  Now he says he's ready to go head to head with political powerhouse John Murtha.

Over the weekend, Russell officially opened his campaign office in Johnstown; an area commonly described as a Murtha stronghold. 

"Certainly this is an area that has experienced a great deal of the benefits of his earmarks, and also a great deal of the detriments of those," Russell said.

Russell says he's staunchly opposed to congressional earmarks, and would like to see the region's economy supported by the private sector.  The retired Army Lt. Col. supports developing coal and natural gas reserves in Pennsylvania.  And in his TV ads, he calls for an apology from Murtha, after the democrat publicly excoriating marines accused of murdering Iraqi women and children in Haditha.   

“If Mr. Murtha were so in touch with our men and women serving in uniform, we should have heard as equally public and sincere apology to each and every one of those marines, and it has never happened," Russell said.

So far seven of the eight marines involved have been cleared of any wrongdoing.  When asked in August about the possibility of issuing apologies, Murtha dodged the issue. 

"There were 23 innocent people, women and children killed.  It's right now under judicial review, so we'll wait until that's over with before we have any other comments," Murtha said.

The last marine still facing charges, Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, is currently awaiting trial.  He's filed a defamation lawsuit against Murtha for his remarks.

When asked about the advertisement, Murtha spokesperson Matthew Mazonkey issued a written statement.