"I'm a Democrat from a Republican community, a Republican county," Hoeffel told the Online NewsHour. "Every election I have had I have had to work very hard to hold the Democratic voters and to attract moderate and independent Republican voters. And I think that has honed my skills, made me open to all sides of a debate."

But it has also helped him stress a common theme that U.S. Rep. Joseph Hoeffel is more an "average Joe." A publicly elected official since age 26, Hoeffel is famous for holding weekly events such as "Saturdays with Joe" and "Cuppa Joe with Joe" where locals are invited to meet with him to discuss ways of improving their communities. The congressman also recently began an outreach program called "Joe's Job Days" in which he spends one day each month at a different job in his suburban Philadelphia district so he can more quickly recognize and address issues that affect local workers and families.

With constituent service and these programs, Hoeffel has built a base of support in his district among both Democrats and moderate Republicans and independents.

But it is not hard for Hoeffel to connect with southeastern Pennsylvanians. He was born on Sept. 3, 1950 in Philadelphia and has spent most of his life in and around the city. He attended William Penn Charter School for high school and then continued on to Boston University in 1972. Prior to attending college, the future congressman joined the Army Reserves where he served from 1970 until his graduation from college in 1976.

Hoeffel wasted no time jumping into the political world, running for state representative the fall after his graduation. The 26-year-old won his campaign to the state House, becoming the first Democrat to represent the Abington area in 60 years. He was reelected four times, serving until he decided to return to school to get his law degree at Temple University.

Upon graduating from law school in 1986, Hoeffel entered private practice. But he could not stay off the campaign trail for long, running for Montgomery County Commissioner in 1991. He scored another electoral victory that year and would be reelected two more times.

But his unbroken streak was about to falter in an agonizingly close race. In 1996, Hoeffel took on Jon Fox for the U.S. House of Representatives seat for Montgomery County. Fox, an incumbent member of Congress, heavily outspent Hoeffel, but the Democrats solid record as commissioner helped bolster his support. But on Election Day, Hoeffel came up just short, losing to Fox by 84 votes.

Undeterred by his first political loss, Hoeffel ran again two years later. Despite a campaign complicated by the ongoing sex scandal involving President Clinton, Hoeffel ran a better financed, disciplined campaign and ousted Fox, 52 percent to 47 percent.

During his first term as a U.S. representative, he quickly learned the importance of delivering services to his district. He helped fund a public health center in Norristown, introduced a bill to reform corporate welfare and legislation that improved federal funding for public schools. Hoeffel was also successful in drawing more than $50 million in federal funding to the 13th District.

He also focused on the traditional Democratic issues, working to preserve Social Security and Medicare benefits and arguing for a prescription drug program under Medicare. Hoeffel was also an early backer of HMO reform and the so-called Patients' Bill of Rights. The congressman also argued for controlled development that would allow communities to preserve the character of their towns.

Hoeffel rode these accomplishments to two consecutive reelections and now hopes to translate those electoral lessons into his most ambitious campaign, to oust Republican Sen. Arlen Specter from office. He has criticized Specter, who faced a bruising primary this fall, for not speaking independently of the Bush administration.

"There is no question that the president's endorsement won the primary victory for Senator Specter and he has been showing his gratitude by voting with the president, dropping any criticism of the president's record," Hoeffel said. "Senator Specter used to be a moderate and a maverick, but he is neither of those any more. He's just not the senator he used to be."

He has also begun to focus on matters beyond southeastern Pennsylvania. As a member of the International Relations Committee, has staked out strong positions on everything from Israel to Sudan. Although Hoeffel voted to authorize the use of force in both Afghanistan and Iraq, he has blasted the Bush administration's handling of the war and the ensuing instability in Iraq.

Hoeffel voted against the $87 billion fund request made by President Bush for military and reconstruction operations in Iraq and Afghanistan saying, "It is my view that we have been much too unilateral and arrogant in our operations and that has not been in our best national interests."

Hoeffel and his wife, Francesca, a registered nurse who has her Master's degree in public health nursing, have two adult children, Mary and Jake.