Described as "one of the more bizarre and nasty congressional campaigns", Shuster's ex-wife was in his campaign ads, defending him and their family. In a set of events that even Shuster's opponent described as unprecedented, Halvorson received enough write-ins in the Democratic primary to become the Democratic Party's candidate in the 9th District. Halvorson, who is considered to be further to the right than Shuster, accepted the Democratic nomination, but vowed to caucus as a conservative Republican if elected to Congress. In the general election, Shuster beat Halvorson again, this time with 63.3% of the vote.