Yesterday was Primary Election Day in the Keystone State, and while the presidential races got the most attention by far, there were still some noteworthy state and local races.

Get Out of Jail Free:

The incumbents listed below all had a same-party challenger in yesterday’s primary. After defeating their challengers, they’re all free and clear now. They have no opponent in the General Election in November (barring a write-in effort) and will remain in office come the 2017-18 legislative session. 

  • Rep. Jake Wheatley (D-HD-19/Allegheny) defeated Jessica Wolfe.
  • Rep. Ed Gainey (D-HD-24/Allegheny) defeated William Anderson and Todd Koger.
  • Rep. Mindy Fee (R-HD-37/Lancaster) defeated Timothy Reedy.
  • Rep. John McGinnis (R-HD-79/Blair) defeated Peter Starr.
  • Rep. Greg Rothman (R-HD-87/Cumberland) defeated Michael Travis.
  • Rep. Patty Kim (D-HD-103/Dauphin) defeated Richard Soto.
  • Rep. Justin Simmons (R-HD-131/Lehigh) defeated William Coyle, Jr.
  • Rep. Michael O’Brien (D-HD-175/Philadelphia) defeated Sean Sullivan, Jr.
  • Rep. Curtis Thomas (D-HD-181/Philadelphia) defeated Kenneth Walker, Jr.
  • Rep. Brian Sims (D-HD-182/Philadelphia) defeated Benjamin Waxman, Louis Lanni, Jr. and Marni Snyder.
  • Rep. Vanessa Brown (D-HD-190/Philadelphia) defeated Wanda Logan, Darryl Thomas, Theodore Smith, Movita Johnson-Harrell and Raymond Bailey.
  • Rep. Donna Bullock (D-HD-195/Philadelphia) defeated Jimmie Moore and Jamar Izzard.
  • Sen. Lawrence Farense (D-SD-1/Philadelphia) defeated John Morley, Jr.

Advance to Go:

The following incumbents don’t have it quite so easy. Though they cleared the first hurdle by winning their primary race, they’ve still got work ahead of them, as they’ll each face an opposite party challenger in November. 

  • Rep. Bradley Roae (R-HD-6/Erie) defeated Lester Lenhart (R) in the Republican primary and will face Peter Zimmer (D) in the general election.
  • Rep. Daryl Metcalfe (R-HD-12/Butler) defeated Gordon Marburger (R) in the Republican primary and will face Christian Rieger (D) in the general election.
  • Rep. Frank Burns (D-HD-72/Cambria) defeated Martin Westrick (D) in the Democratic Primary and will face Cecilia Houser (R) in the general election.
  • Rep. Richard Irvin (R-HD-81/Huntingdon) defeated Richard Rogers (R) in the Republican primary and will face Rick Rogers (D) in the general election.
  • Rep. Russell Diamond (R-HD-102/Lebanon) defeated Thomas Houtz (R) in the Republican primary and will face Jake Long (D) in the general election.
  • Rep. Susan Helm (R-HD-104/Dauphin) defeated Nathaniel Curtis (R) in the Republican primary and will face Jody Rebarchak (D) in the general election.
  • Rep. Margo Davidson (D-HD-164/Delaware) defeated Sekela Coles in the Democratic primary and will face Inder Bains (R) in the general election.
  • Rep. Pamela DeLissio (D-HD-194/Philadelphia) defeated Sean Stevens (D) in the Democratic primary and will face Bill Pounds (R) in the general election.
  • Sen. John Sabatina (D-SD-5/Philadelphia) defeated Kevin Boyle (D) in the Democratic primary and will face Ross Feinberg (R) in the general election.
  • Sen. Rob Teplitz (D-SD-15/Dauphin) defeated Alvin Taylor (D) in the Democratic primary. John DiSanto (R) defeated Andrew Lewis (R), in the Republican primary; both candidates will face each other in the general election.
  • Sen. John Wozniak (D-SD-35/Cambria) defeated Gerald Carnicella (D) in the Democratic primary.  Wayne Langerholc (R) defeated Dwight Winck Jr. (R) in the Republican primary; both candidates will face each other in the general election.

Do Not Pass Go, and Do Not Collect $200

Last night was not without a few upsets. Some incumbents were defeated by their primary election challenger and will end their term of service at the end of this session.

  • Former Representative Kevin Haggerty (D) defeated Rep. Frank Farina (D-HD-112/Lackawanna) and Thomas Lukasewicz in the Democratic primary and will face Ernest Lemoncelli (R) in the general election.
  • Morgan Cephas defeated Rep. Lynwood Savage (D-HD-192/Philadelphia) and Steven Jones (D), Edwin Santana (D), and Jestine Johnson (D) in the Democratic primary and will become the district’s new representative.
  • Christopher Rabb defeated Rep. Tonyelle Cook Artis (D-HD-200/Philadelphia) and Bobbie Curry (D) in the Democratic primary and will face Latryse McDowell (R) in the general election.
  • Jared Solomon defeated Rep. Mark Cohen (D-HD-202/Philadelphia) to become the district’s new representative. Rep. Cohen had been the longest serving member in the House.

Joining the Game:

Also, a number of seated members of the House of Representatives and the Senate have announced their retirement this year, leaving their seats up for grabs. Those seats are in:

  • HD-31/Bucks:
    Perry Warren (D) will face Ryan Gallagher (R) in the general election. They will face off in November to replace Rep. Steve Santasiero (D), who is running for Congress in the 8th district.
  • HD-45/Allegheny:
    Anita Astorino Kulik (D) was the only candidate on the ballot, and barring a write-in candidate, will become the district’s new Representative after the general election. She will replace Rep. Nick Kotik (D).

  • D-HD-49/Washington:
    Alan Benyak (D) defeated Brendan Garay (D), Bob Kepics (D), Mark Alterici (D), Donn Henderson (D) and Randy Barli (D) in the Democratic primary and Bud Cook (R) defeated Melanie Stringhill Patterson (R) in the Republican primary. Alan Benyak (D) and Bud Cook (R) will square off in November for the seat currently held by Rep. Pete Daley (D).
  • HD-58/Westmoreland:
    Mary Popovich (D) defeated Charles Mrlack Jr. (D) in the Democratic primary and will face Justin Walsh (R) in the general election. There was no challenger in the Republican race. The winner will replace Rep. Ted Harhai (D).
  • HD-92/York:
    Dawn Keefer (R) defeated Kraig Bruder (R) and Anthony Pugliese (R) in the Republican primary, and barring a write-in candidate, will become the district’s new Representative after the general election. The seat is currently held by Rep. Mike Regan (R), who ran for the Senate seat open due to the retirement of Sen. Pat Vance.
  • HD- 101/Lebanon:
    Frank Ryan (R) defeated Pier Hess (R), Jeffrey Griffith (R) and John Dissinger (R) in the Republican primary and will face Lorraine Scudder (D) in the general election. The winner will replace Rep. Mauree Gingrich (R).
  • HD-106/Dauphin:
    Tom Mehaffie (R) defeated Jonathan Keeler (R) in the Republican primary and barring a write-in candidate, will become the district’s new Representative after the general election. The seat is open due to the retirement of Rep. John Payne (R).
  • HD-111/Susquehanna:
    Jonathan Fritz (R) defeated Alan Hall (R) and Jerry Birmelin (R) in the Republican primary, and barring a write-in candidate, will become the district’s new Representative after the general election, replacing Rep. Sandra Major (R).
  • HD-150/Montgomery:
    Linda Weaver (D) defeated Steven Burda (D) in the Democratic primary and will face Michael Corr (R) in the general election. The seat is currently held by Rep. Mike Vereb (R), who is retiring.
  • HD-158/Chester:
    Susan Rzucidlo (D) was the only candidate on the ballot, and barring a write-in candidate, will become the district’s new Representative after the general election. The seat is currently held by Rep. Chris Ross (R).
  • HD-159/Chester:
    Brian Kirkland (D) will face Michael Ciach (R) in the general election. Neither candidate had a primary election challenger. The winner will replace Rep. Thaddeus Kirkland (D), who now serves as the Mayor of Chester.
  • HD-165/Delaware:
    Elaine Paul Schaeffer (D) will face Alex Charlton (R) in the general election. Neither candidate had a primary election challenger.  They will square off for the seat now held by Rep. Bill Adolph (R).
  • HD-168/Delaware:
    Diane Cornman-Levy (D) will face Chris Quinn (R) in the general election. Neither candidate had a primary election challenger. The seat is vacant due to the retirement of Rep. Tom Killion (R), who ran in a special election yesterday for SD-9, vacant due to the retirement of Sen. Pileggi.
  • HD-183/Northampton:
    Zach Mako (R) defeated Cynthia Miller (R) in the Republican primary and will face Phillips Armstrong (D) in the general election. There was no challenger in the Democratic race. The seat is currently held by Rep. Julie Harhart (R).

  • HD-203/Philadelphia:
    Isabella Fitzgerald (D) was the only candidate on the ballot, and barring a write-in candidate, will become the district’s new Representative after the general election. She will replace Rep. Dwight Evans (D), who is running for congress in the 2nd Congressional District.
  • SD-3/Philadelphia:
    Sharif Street (D) was the only candidate on the ballot, and barring a write-in candidate, will become the district’s new Senator after the general election.  Rep. Shirley Kitchen (D) currently holds the seat.
  • SD-13/Lancaster:
    Scott Martin (R) defeated Ethan Demme (R) and Neal Rice (R) in the Republican primary and will face Greg Paulson (D) in the general election. There was no challenger in the Democratic race. The winner in the fall will replace Sen. Lloyd Smucker (R), who is running for Congress in the 16th Congressional District.
  • SD-31/Cumberland:
    Mike Regan (R) defeated Brice Arndt (R), Jon Ritchie (R), and Scott Harper (R) in the Republican primary and barring a write-in candidate, will become the district’s new Senator after the general election. The seat is up for grabs due to the retirement of Sen. Pat Vance (R).

PA Senate Special Election

There was a special election in the 9th Senatorial District yesterday, too. That seat became open when Sen. Dominic Pileggi (R) was elected to the Delaware County Common Pleas. Thomas Killion (R) defeated Martin Molloy II (D), keeping the seat republican. Killion will be sworn in and will serve out the remainder of Pileggi’s term, which would have expired in 2016.

U.S. Senate

Katie McGinty (D) defeated Joseph Sestak (D), John Fetterman (D) and Joseph Vodvarka (D) in the Democratic primary and will face Sen. Patrick Toomey (R) in the general election. Sen. Toomey did not have a primary election challenger.

Pennsylvania Attorney General  

Current Attorney General Kathleen Kane opted not to run for reelection, leaving that office up for grabs. Joshua Shapiro (D) defeated Stephen Zappala II (D) and John Morganelli (D) in the Democratic primary, and John Rafferty (R) defeated Joseph Peters (R) in the Republican primary. They will face each other in the General Election in November. 

Pennsylvania Treasurer  

Joseph Torsella (D) will face Otto Voit III (R) in the general election. Neither candidate had a primary election challenger.

Pennsylvania Auditor General  

Eugene DePasquale (D) will face John Brown (R) in the general election. Neither candidate had a primary election challenger.