His condition was thought to be grave after complications following gall bladder surgery. He was expected to be in the hospital for several months.

Murtha was a chair of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee and ran for House Majority Leader in 2006. He was an early voice against the Iraq war in 2005, before many members of Congress were willing to do so.

A former Marine, Mr. Murtha, his office noted, was the first Vietnam War combat Veteran elected to Congress. Throughout his years, Mr. Murtha paid particular attention to defense spending and to the Pentagon and the military.

Without Murtha in the 12th district, however, the special election will be seriously contested. Murtha’s district is the only one in the country won by Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) in 2004 and by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in 2008, according to Republican sources, and that trend line coupled with the volatile national environment for Democrats ensures Republicans will heavily target the contest.

Representative John P. Murtha, the longtime Democratic congressman from Pennsylvania, has died at age 77. His aides released a statement saying that he died shortly after 1 p.m. today at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, a suburb of Washington, D.C. Mr. Murtha had been placed in intensive care last week after complications from gallbladder surgery, his staff said then.

Tomorrow, we’ll think about what happens to the seat, the special election, the effects on the ultimate redistricting of Pennsylvania: today, John “Jack” Murtha served his country and he will be missed.