The district during his tenure, which was located in the southwestern portion of the state, stretched from Johnstown to the southern suburbs of Pittsburgh.

[4][5] Critz won the Democratic nomination for the 2022 U.S. House of Representatives election in Pennsylvania's 13th congressional district via write-in, but he declined to run.

[7] "Most of my friends, their folks worked in the mill or were small business owners," Critz told the National Journal about his upbringing.

"There were hundreds of thousands of families that relied on steel directly, and when that started to fade the area got hit pretty hard."

The National Journal also wrote that, after his college graduation, Critz "struggled to find work in the decimated local economy" and he “left the region for a job managing a Roy Rogers restaurant in Wilmington, Delaware” in 1987.

[8] In addition to Roy Rogers, Critz served as a manager for Spherical Concepts and American Eagle Outfitters.

[9] Critz focused on district issues, serving as Murtha's liaison to the Flight 93 Memorial committee and the Que Creek Mine disaster site.

[9] PoliticsPA reported that "Critz...attended a 2005 meeting with defense contractors and lobbyists and offered the Congressman's [Murtha's] support for an earmark project that ended in the criminal convictions of three men.

He announced on February 22, 2010, that he would resign his position with the 12th Congressional District and seek the Democratic nomination to run in the special election, which was held on May 18, 2010.

"[13] On March 8, the Pennsylvania Democratic Party Executive Committee followed the recommendation of the district officials by nominating Critz.

However, Critz could not overcome the redder hue of his redrawn district, and was defeated by Altmire's 2010 opponent, Keith Rothfus, 52%-48%.

[16] Critz told a radio show host on August 14, 2013, that he would be a Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania in the 2014 election to challenge incumbent Republican Jim Cawley.

In April 2015, Mark Critz began work as the executive director of the Pennsylvania Rural Development Council.