A native of O'Hara Township, Pennsylvania, he was considered a rising star in the Republican party, eventually being named by his caucus to the position of Majority Deputy Whip.

[9] In 1994, Habay ran for the 30th legislative district in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, a seat in Pittsburgh's northern suburbs that had been held by Republican Rick Cessar for 24 years.

[10] Observers noted strong similarities between the candidates, as both were under 30 years old and ran on platforms of reducing taxes, privatizing the Pennsylvania liquor store system, and legislative term limits.

"[12] Habay's candidacy was assisted by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge and the campaign spent $900 a week to show a 30-second advertisement on major cable networks, a large expenditure for a State House election at that time.

Habay won the nomination in a landslide winning all 61 district polling locations and faced Democrat Tom Sunday, a former Shaler Township Commissioner and sporting goods store owner, in the general election.

[16] During the campaign, Sunday said that Habay's opposition to a proposed gasoline tax had resulted in delays in a construction project to straighten the Mae West Bend on Pennsylvania Route 8.

However his career is rapidly falling after a succession of accusations including a charge that the lawmaker falsely claimed a political foe had mailed him a suspicious white powder.

[3] In 2004, Habay was accused of filing a false police report concerning an alleged anthrax attack, of theft for using state-paid staffers to research whistle blowers, and violations of the State Ethics Act.