Hats off to state Rep. Scott Perry for showing how a congressional campaign should be run.

According to the most recent campaign finance reports, Perry raised just $108,940 compared to York County Commissioner Chris Reilly, who, in his second bid for the 4th Congressional District seat, took in $192,100.

Reilly, in fact, led Perry in an early April poll commissioned by The York Dispatch.

But a combination of a tuned message and hard work, not to mention well-timed radio and television spots and home mailings, trumped deeper pockets in this case.

Voters in Tuesday's primary election selected Perry over Reilly by almost a 3-to-1 ratio.

The Army National Guard colonel never took the nomination for granted, despite the name recognition earned while representing the 92nd House District in the state General Assembly, and he never slowed down.

"We are outspent two-to-one. Two-to-one, OK," Perry said during a victory speech Tuesday night.

"Maybe 'out-signed' on a couple of occasions. We were 'out' a lot of things, but we weren't out-worked," he said. "Nobody had a bigger vision than all of us, and no one worked harder ... And that's what this is about. Hard work. Perseverance for the right reasons ..."

Whether one agrees with Perry's vision and reason -- he's much more conservative than Rep. Todd Platts, whom he's hoping to replace -- he deserves credit for a smart, well-run campaign.

It was better than the other seven Republican candidates' -- much better than some.

Perry now faces Harry Perkinson, who claimed the Democratic nomination Tuesday.

The York Township engineer faces an uphill climb to defeat Perry in a district that hasn't elected a Democrat in more than four decades.

That's not to say it can't be done.

At the very least, Perkinson will have to run his campaign like a fine-tuned machine between now and November.

If he wants a good model, all he has to do is look at his opponent's.