State Rep. Mihalek fends off challenger in Republican primary
State Rep. Natalie Mihalek fended off a challenge from Steve Renz in the Republican primary for her 40th state House District in Tuesday’s primary, although she narrowly lost her hometown of Peters Township.
Mihalek was boosted by a strong showing in Upper St. Clair and Bethel Park in the district that catapulted her to victory in the primary and likely to a third term in the state House of Representatives.
Renz narrowly won Peters Township, the hometown of both candidates, but he was trounced in the South Hills of Allegheny County.
Overall, Mihalek received 5,207 votes compared to the 4,348 votes for Renz with 47 of 48 precincts in the district reporting late Tuesday night. Mihalek, who could not be reached for comment, is not expected to have a Democratic opponent in the fall since no one ran on that side of the ticket in the primary for what is a heavily Republican district.
While Mihalek beat her challenger, the same could not be said for two-term state Rep. Mike Puskaric, who was heading toward defeat in the Republican primary against Andrew Kuzma. While Puskaric won the Washington County side of his 39th District in the Mon Valley, he lost the Allegheny County portion to Kuzma, who is an attorney and former Elizabeth Township commissioner.
Kuzma received 4,001 votes compared to Puskaric’s tally of 2,914 votes with 61 of 64 precincts reporting. Neither Kuzma nor Puskaric could be reached for comment Tuesday night.
In statewide races, two candidates who once represented this area lost their primaries.
U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb of Mt. Lebanon, who once represented portions of this area in Congress, lost the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate to Lt. Gov. John Fetterman of Braddock. It was not known who Fetterman would face on the Republican side of the ticket as David McCormick and Mehmet Oz were in a virtual tie in the GOP race as of press time.
Former state representative Rick Saccone, who lost two congressional races in 2018 and was near the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot, fell short of his bid for lieutenant governor. Saccone was second with nearly 16% of the vote in a crowded field of nine candidates, with Carrie Delrosso leading with nearly 29% as of press time.