Pennsylvania Rep. Jason Altmire, a two-term Democrat, has drawn his first Republican challenger for the 2010 campaign.

Keith J. Rothfus, a lawyer, confirmed to CQ Politics Tuesday that he recently filed a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission. He issued a press release later Tuesday announcing his candidacy and outlining some of his reasons he is running in the 4th District, which includes suburbs of Pittsburgh and other territory in western Pennsylvania.

“We need policies that focus on lowering the tax burden on employers, not policies that add new costs, such as the health care and ‘cap and trade’ bills pending in Congress,” Rothfus said.

Altmire, however, voted against cap-and-trade, which refers to a provision in an energy bill, passed by the House and pending in the Senate, that would limit emissions related to global warming — a concept supported by many Democrats but opposed by most Republicans on economic grounds.