WASHINGTON — In the battle for the U.S. House majority, Pennsylvania’s 17th Congressional District is emerging as one to watch, and the national dollars being funneled to the southwestern Pennsylvania area show the party leaders’ increasing focus on the race.

While not as high-profile or bitter as the Pennsylvania U.S. Senate contest that is expected to attract tens of millions of dollars, the 17th District race between Democrat Chris Deluzio and Republican Jeremy Shaffer has the attention of the national committees and their respective PACs — each side committing a few million dollars to buy time on the Pittsburgh airwaves, where money can stretch further than in larger U.S. media markets.

Mr. Deluzio, a former Navy officer who served in Iraq and who emerged as a go-to expert on election reform in recent years as Pitt Cyber policy director, and Mr. Shaffer, a former Ross commissioner and software engineer who graduated from CMU, are vying for outgoing Democratic Rep. Conor Lamb’s seat.

The district territory covers all of Beaver County and a large portion of Allegheny County that hugs the outskirts of Pittsburgh. Redrawn lines following the 2020 census resulted in the district losing a corner of Butler County but gaining a bit more ground to the south and east of the city.