Art Halvorson announced the appointment of two high-ranking campaign staffers yesterday.

Joe Sterns will serve as his campaign manager while Greg Scandlen will be communications and research director.

“I’m very pleased to welcome these two outstanding professionals onto the team,” Halvorson said. “They are as committed as I am to ending business as usual in Washington through providing sincere, conservative representation for our leadership in Washington.”

Sterns previously worked for Senator Pat Toomey and was named as one of the best county chairs by PoliticsPA in 2011. Scandlen is a former Cato Institute policy analyst.

Halvorson is running against Congressman Bill Shuster in the Republican primary for the second consecutive election cycle.

The 9th district consists of all or parts of Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Fayette, Franklin, Fulton, Greene, Huntingdon, Indiana, Somerset, Washington and Westmoreland Counties.