Despite the weak voter turnout, Tuesday’s primary election night held some interesting surprises and upsets.
There were several hotly contested statewide races, including the Democratic primary for Attorney General. APSCUF did not endorse either candidate in the race, but other labor groups backed Patrick Murphy, who lost to Kathleen Kane. She will face republican Dave Freed in the fall. Tom Smith won the Republican primary for U.S. Senate and will face Senator Bob Casey in November. Long-standing APSCUF supporters and Democratic incumbents Babette Josephs from Philadelphia and Joe Preston from Pittsburgh lost their primaries. Two other APSCUF-endorsed incumbents – Democrats Kevin Murphy and Ken Smith – also lost their primaries, as did Republican Rick Geist.
The full list of primary election results can be found on the Department of State’s website.
In addition to the primaries, there were six special elections to replace PA House members – four Democrats and two Republicans – who moved to other positions last year. Democrats won five of those seats, which did little to change the make up of the House. Republicans still control the chamber 111-91 with one vacancy (the resignation of Bill DeWeese on Tuesday).
For more complete coverage of Pennsylvania’s primary election, visit the politics sections of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and Harrisburg Patriot-News.