Dems look to rally behind Sestak, aim at Toomey

PHILADELPHIA—In the moments after

Numbers point to a Trivedi win, but Pike doesn’t concede

READING—Democrat Manan Trivedi appeared to have won the hotly-contest primary in the 6th Congressional District late Tuesday night, holding a narrow lead over opponent Doug Pike hours after polls clsoed. But even with news organizations calling the race for Trivedi, Pike had yet to concede, telling supporters that the race was too close to call and couldn’t be decided until at least Wednesday.

Action in the close race extended well past midnight and ended with…

Conklin and Saidel locked in too-close-to-call Lt. Gov. race

PHILADELPHIA—It wasn’t quite the race they were expecting.

Supporters of former Philadelphia City Controller Jonathan Saidel came to the Warwick Hotel here Tuesday thinking a victory party was a sure thing. Saidel was the endorsed party candidate, enjoyed a huge financial advantage and the support of labor organizations far and wide.

But things weren’t that simple.

By the end of the night, Saidel and state Representative Scott Conklin (D-Centre) were locked in a surprisingly close…

Kelly eeks out a win in crowded primary to face Dahlkemper

BUTLER—Republican Mike Kelly narrowly edged out a crowded primary field in the 3rd Congressional District Tuesday, topping his closes rival by less than 1,000 votes and winning the chance to take on Congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper (D-3) in the fall.

It was several hours after the polls closed before news organizations began calling the race for Kelly, a well-known car dealer here. Both Kelly and primary rival Paul Huber had loaned their campaigns more than $300,000,…

Sestak wins big, completing come-from-behind win and ending the Specter era

WAYNE—Joseph A. Sestak, the former Navy Admiral and second-term congressman who challenged his party’s political establishment, won the Democratic Senate primary Tuesday, riding a wave of anti-incumbency and a brilliantly-run TV campaign to a victory that ended the 45-year political career of Senator Arlen Specter.

Despite polls that had shown the bitter primary contest coming down to the wire, it was hardly close in the end; with nearly all precincts reporting, Sestak enjoyed an 8-point…

Onorato easily wins gubernatorial primary, setting up showdown with Corbett

PITTSBURGH—Dan Onorato, the Allegheny County Executive who started plotting a path to the Governor’s Mansion years ago, took a big step toward getting there Tuesday, easily winning the Democratic gubernatorial primary in a race he was favored to win from the start.

Onorato bested three primary rivals thanks to a campaign infrastructure he started building long before them and a massive TV blitz that introduced him to Pennsylvania Democrats at a time when the vast…

Rothfus beats Buchanan by wide margin

WEXFORD—Keith Rothfus said he just might be able to sleep Tuesday night.

“Relieved is how I feel right now,” he said about an hour after he was declared the winner of the 4th District Republican primary. “But now we have even more work to do.”

After keeping former U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan on the defensive for weeks, Rothfus easily sent her packing Tuesday. He won two-thirds of the vote, topping a party-favored candidate with…

Critz wins special election in boost for Dems

JOHNSTOWN—Democrat Mark Critz, a longtime aide to John Murtha, won the special election to succeed his late boss in the 12th Congressional District Tuesday, beating Republican Tim Burns by a surprisingly healthy margin in a race that was closely watched at the national level.

Polls right up until the election had forecast a very tight race, but Critz ended up prevailing with more than 53 percent of the vote, compared to about 44 percent for…

Argall narrowly wins primary in 17th

State Senator Dave Argall (R-Schuylkill) just barely edged out a win in the 17th District Republican primary Tuesday, winning the Republican Party’s nomination by less than 1,000 votes in the central Pennsylvania district.

Preliminary election returns showed Argall winning 32.4 percent of the vote, with Frank Ryan, a military veteran who has run for the seat before, finishing just behind him at 31 percent. Josh First came in third place with about 23 percent of…

Cawley prevails in crowded Lt. Gov. primary

DOYLESTOWN—Bucks County Commissioner Jim Cawley emerged victorious from a nine-person primary for Lieutenant Governor Tuesday, in a victory for the state Republican Party that wanted to pair him on a gubernatorial ticket with Tom Corbett.

Returns early in the afternoon showed Cawley locked in a tight race with Chet Beiler, his most vocal critic in the race. But he soon pulled away, and eventually won more than 26 percent of the vote compared to about…