Two Dems drop out of 58th District race
Two Democrats have dropped out of the race for the state House 58th District seat currently held by Rep. Ted Harhai, who will retire at the end of the year.
Jim Manderino II of Monessen, the grandson of former Speaker of the House James Manderino, announced on his Facebook page Sunday he has withdrawn from the election after realizing he would hate the job of state representative.
Robert A. McDonald, a Hempfield Area School District school board member, also has withdrawn from the election, state records show.
Manderino said the “money and power” that are associated with being a state representative began to trouble him as the campaign progressed.
“I’ll leave you with this. If you want good government it does not start by electing good people,” he stated in his Facebook post. “Good government begins with raising your children up in the ways of my God.”
McDonald, who withdrew in March, could not be reached Monday.
McDonald’s name will not appear on the ballot when voters go to the polls April 26 because he withdrew before the state deadline, said a spokeswoman for the Westmoreland County Elections Bureau.
Manderino’s name will appear on the ballot because he would have to obtain a court order to have it removed this late in the election cycle, she said.
The ballot will include a notation that any vote for Manderino will be considered a write-in vote.
The exit of the two candidates leaves Charles Mrlack Jr. of Monessen and Mary Popovich of West Newton as the two remaining Democratic candidates in the primary.